Happy Birthday To A Dear Friend

I want to take time today to say Happy Birthday to my friend Jan.  It must be hard to be happy today... about anything with the reminders of 5 years ago all around us.  It's not that we don't remember...but we must go on, we must be happy, we must celebrate other events or the enemy has won.   So today..I'm remembering my friendship with Jan. 

We first met in January of 1982 when I started a new job at a little 35 bed hospital, Doctors Hospital.  Jan was secretary to the head nurse, and then she worked in the operating room at the desk scheduling surgeries.  When I became the admitting clerk, I decided to start pre-registering surgical patients...so at least once a day I would go up to the o.r. desk and sit and go thru Jan's big surgery book, writing down names, addresses,and dates of surgery so I could get a pre-admit form out to each patient in a timely manner...thus the paperwork would be ready when they walked in the front door.

Eventually Doctor's Hospital was swallowed up by the bigger health system and things changed.  I went on to the admitting deptartment at the main hospital and Jan took a job in the Human Resources department.  She continued there until an early retirement was offered  one year in the mid 1990's and she decided to retire. She retired from the health system only to go on working at another job in the world of bingo, where she still works to this day. ( She's the one behind the window selling you all those different cards.) 

Over the years we have continued our friendship, along with some others who worked together back in the late 1980's.  I remember one time Jan and I along with two other co-workers took the train to Portland for the day.  We had such a blast, laughing and talking all the way down there and all the way back.   I also remember when I was scheduled for gall bladder surgery and friend Bob was working out of town and I needed a ride to the hospital.  I called Jan to see if she could take me and she said absolutley !  I was thinking just a ride to the hospital but she parked and came in with me.  She stayed...waited with me until the surgical nurse came to walk me down the hall to that scary room with the big light in the ceiling.   When I was brought back to my room from recovery, there she was...smiling and ready to sit and hold my hand during those few ugly hours after any surgery.

When I moved to the mobile home 5 years ago, I ended up just about 6 blocks from Jan and her husband.  We don't see each other very often, as I work days and she works evenings.  But when we do get together, it's always fun to be with her. 

I want to wish Jan the best birthday ever and to thank her for 24 years of friendship !!!    Linda