Take Care of Yourself Kiddo

....."Now you are going to feel a little stick here and it may sting a bit..." I say to the patient we have onboard. Right now I am trying to start an IV for her while Chris is driving.
......"That's okay Kiddo, you do what you have to do," she states. The way she pronounces Kiddo sends a shiver up my spine. She says it with a voice and accent similar to that of a beloved Aunt of mine who passed away several years ago. I let the shiver pass and try to refocus on the task at hand.

....."Tracks!" Chris yells back from the cab giving me just enough warning to withdraw my needle and abort my attempt. I smile at the lady as I wait for the rumble of train tracks to pass beneath the wheels of our ambulance before starting once again. This lady's smile, and the twinkle in her eyes reminds me even more of Auntie Joyce, and when she grins and winks at me the shiver returns.
....."I must say, you remind me very much of an Aunt I had growing up," I say, settling down on the bench seat and patting her arm as I again resume the IV start. I'd had the vein I wanted zero'd in before we were interrupted, now I had to hunt again. "She lived up in the Midwest."

....."I grew up in the Midwest; it's a good place to be from," she agreed.

While we drove this lady proceeded to tell me a bit about herself and where she had come from in the Midwest. I could relate and we talked at length about ther regional differences and cultural things that we missed now living here. The longer she talked and the more she related, the more I missed my aunt.

Auntie Joyce had been a large part of my childhood, a tough lady, typical for a Midwestern farm wife. She had three boys and ruled them and the rest of us with an iron fist, though she had a soft spot for me as I was the only girl born to that side of the family. She and I shared a passion for horses, and she nurtured that as I grew up, making me into the horsewoman I am today. My talent was natural, hers was one worked hard for over many years. She said my abilities outshined hers by a mile, but I never forgot who laid that foundation in the first place.

As the lady continues to talk, certain memories flit thru my mind just as clear as a bell. The time a cousin and I were dropping marbles thru a ceiling heating grate and I managed to drop a big shooter marble on top of her head just as she happened to enter the room, and how that brought about immediate spankings. The pizzas she would make from scratch on Sundays after church because out where they lived there were no pizza parlors or delivery places. The way her home always had friends, family and neighbors stopping in to visit and share a cup of coffee. That old ugly station wagon she always drove, a gift to her from my uncle when her first son was born. How prould she was of her boys, and the love she had for my Uncle Joe, and how her face lit up at any mention of them and her eyes would twinkle just as my patient's had a moment ago.

Auntie Joyce passed away a few years ago, but in my mind she's not really gone. Her spirit is alive and well inside me. She used to tell me that I was just like her mother (who died long before I was born), how I had the same tenacity, energy and integrity as well as her equine abilities, but I think I am really much more like Joyce was. A force to be reckoned with, someone unafraid of the obstacles that life can sometimes toss your way. Auntie Joyce always encouraged me, and it was while I was visiting her that I decided to to pack up and head West to strike out on my own. We'd been sitting out on the deck drinking ice tea when I announced my intention. She just smiled and kept rocking the porch swing we were sitting in. "You can do anything child, I know you'll make it. Just don't forget us back here, don't forget where you come from. And remember to Take care of yourself Kiddo!"

She was right. I did make it, and though I would never see my Auntie Joyce again, I kept my promise-I never have forgotten her. Nor did I forget the influence she had in my life. Today this sweet patient of mine brought back all of those lovely and funny memories for me in a way that makes me smile and brings a little mist to my eyes.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital, and we brought our patient in. After I had given report and Chris was out reloading the rig I paused in the doorway to say goodbye to the nice lady. She looked up."It was really nice to meet you, a fellow Midwesterner," she said giving me a little wave with her free hand, and giving me that oh-so familiar twinkle. "Thanks for everything. Take care of yourself Kiddo!"

Joyce couldn't have said it better herself.