Ten of us from a class of 44 traveled to Cape May, New Jersey to attend our 55th nursing reunion. We first met as young Catholic teens in the late ’50s enrolled in the diploma program at Saint Peter’s School of Nursing in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Hard to believe we are now in our…… Continue reading Nurse at the Switchboard
Category: Nostalgia
Nurses of a Certain Age
Excepted from Off the Charts, May 31, 2017 AJN Facebook Readers on Influences, Public Attitudes to Nursing, Practices of Yesterday by Betsy Todd, MPH, RN, CIC What do you remember from early in your career that would never be seen or done today? We “nurses of a certain age” remember!—and we’re amazed at how…… Continue reading Nurses of a Certain Age
What is a Student Nurse?
Carol Ann, a friend of mine from nursing school, recently came to visit. She and her husband live in California. They cruised the Panama Canal over Christmas, drove to see friends in Clearwater, Florida, toured both Savannah and Charleston and traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to stay with us for a few days. Immediately, we…… Continue reading What is a Student Nurse?
Dad and the Bride Doll
In memory of my father’s death 50 years ago.
Happy Lasagna Day
My husband and I are spending Thanksgiving alone—by choice. We had been invited out but graciously declined. After having three sets of houseguests in six weeks, we are happy to be alone. By the way, the house has never been cleaner. And we broke from the traditional Thanksgiving dinner—we…… Continue reading Happy Lasagna Day
The Compliment
Two weeks ago I flew to Sioux Falls to visit my good friend, Lois, in her new home. She and her husband left a Chicago condo off Michigan Avenue facing the lake to settle in a small town with less excitement than a big city. That weekend we attended the South Dakota Annual Festival…… Continue reading The Compliment
My Mother’s Boyfriend
Happy Mother’s Day. My mother died the day before Mother’s Day sixteen years ago. Each year at this time my memories of Mom revolve around both her life and death. Her last few years weren’t what I would have predicted. When Ernie and I moved from the Midwest to Maryland in 1993, Mom came with…… Continue reading My Mother’s Boyfriend
Humor Noir/Black Humor
While I was looking for something to read to my writing group, I came across this story. It brings back memories of how green I was when I started nursing school. Right before Patsy’s turn to share her thoughts with the group, she smiled coyly at me. Oh no! She wasn’t going to tell…… Continue reading Humor Noir/Black Humor
The Olden Days of Nursing
“I would be in a sweat if I tried to maneuver out of that tight parking space without power steering,” I said to my 15-year-old grandson who is currently taking driver education. We had left the grocery store with a bottle of apple juice and two bags of pretzels. The parking lot was small and…… Continue reading The Olden Days of Nursing
The Things I Treasure
Tomorrow we are having the rooms on the second floor of our new townhouse painted. Before we moved furniture to the center of the rooms, I stored in a large cardboard box, out of harms way, the treasures I kept on the shelves of my desk. Among the various memorabilia I packed away were the…… Continue reading The Things I Treasure
Nursing Stories: Memories of an Older Nurse 