As nurses, we touch people at various points in their life cycle. And they touch ours. It’s a bit different, though, when it’s personal.

Sunday night I sat with a dying loved one. Less than 18 hours later I was one of the first few people to hold a new life – my nephew.

Life. Death.

I have worked both as a labor and delivery nurse and as an oncology nurse, and I can assure you, both nursing specialties – albeit often (but not always) on different spectrums of the life cycle – are diversely similar. It is a reverent glimpse into the life cycle most never catch; personally and professionally, I feel it is an honor to be present in both moments.

I was reminded of that yet again: life is so wonderfully precious.