My mom moved this week from her room in Spectrum on Fuller to another Spectrum facility on Kalamazoo. Another step in the process for her as her body heals. Still struggling a bit with varying blood pressure, but still making incremental improvement. That is not why I am writing this entry.....

I was in the room a bit early to help my dad move my mom's "stuff". As we were dialoging and packing, nurse after nurse came in to say goodbye to my mom - not just the people that were assigned to her that day, but lots of nurses who had worked with her over the 6 weeks she had been there. The thing that impressed me was the words that these professionals used: we are going to miss you, thank you, stop back and see us, we want to know how you are doing; a couple of them even were shedding tears about her leaving.

Do you know that this told me as I watched this unfold? My mom had an impact on the people in the hospital; a deep impact. They were positively influenced by her smile, her attitude in the midst of a bad situation, her kind words to them, her "thank you" every time they served her, her gentle touch on their arm as they were helping her......I could go on.

I can't begin to describe to you all the stuff that my mom struggles with every day and the things that she has to work at that we all take for granted. In the midst of all the trauma of life that she has to face, she is having a positive influence on the people around her.

It is a great honor for me to have this woman as my mom. She is an example to me and to others of what having joy in the midst of trials should look like. Thanks mom.