A follow-up to yesterday’s letter…

Hey, You!

I hope this finds you and yours well, getting ready to celebrate another holiday season. My heart cries a little when I think of ten years into the future – how long you and your Love have celebrated one another now as well as how old the littles are at the moment you’re reading this. Well, even if you are, actually, reading this. None of us are promised tomorrow, right? And if not, then none of this even matters. You’re exactly where your heart sings. And, if you are reading, then carry on…man, this letter took a weird turn, no? Haaa!

Really, I hope three things for you – continued health, happiness, and Salvation – because I think, even at this point, I’m certain that’s all that really matters. I hope you are holding fast to what matters. If you remember back, it’s the scary thought that remains with you each day at the time I write this – that you keep the priorities the actual priorities. Everything else…well, it’s gravy. 

And speaking of gravy, I fully expect a PhD by now. Oh, heavens, please tell me we actually get over the hump and obtain that elusive sucker! I bet you’re still writing, but I wonder if you’re still blogging. I hope so. I really do. And I hope it’s still happening right here at Nursetopia. 

I hope you’ve realized at least one of the several businesses you’ve been thinking about for so long now. I hope you’ve found the right business partner(s) and have had the chance to skip a lot of heartache in the process.

I hope you’ve been able to give back to the schools and organizations that have spurred you on and that your giving is more than monetary gifts.

I hope you’ve been able to stay true to yourself. In every single way. You might smile while reading this, thinking of some of the wild hopes and dreams that paper cannot contain at this moment – only hidden within my heart. No doubt, much will remain hidden, but I do hope for those secret hopes, too.

I know it’s unreasonable to hope for no heartache over time, so I won’t. I will, however, hope that those tough moments become stepping-stones – rather than roadblocks – for you and that you share those moments with others, to help lighten the load for yourself as well as to help others avoid the same mistakes and worries. I really hope those moments don’t make you cynical and calloused but rather, even more kind-hearted and determined to make the work of healthcare better.

I hope. I hope.

Joni Watson, MSN, MBA, RN, OCN®