anna

School's out for summer! Well, for most...I'm teaching summer school, but the 2008-09 school year has officially come to an end. While I absolutely LOVE summer, swimming, spending time with my baby girls, and just having some free time, I also miss school! I miss my kids, my colleagues and just my daily routine of living a teacher's life! It never fails; each year, I cry like a baby as I read my students the final book of the year. It's just something about their tiny little hugs, big giant smiles and the innocence of their first year in school that makes me realize how lucky I am to be a teacher.

On May 10th, 2007 around 11:00 pm, I went into labor with Elliott. I remember waking Eddie from his deep sleep. As soon as the words registered, he jumped up. Ahhh, the look on his face! Priceless! Surprisingly, we were packed and ready to go. I laugh now about how I thought that the cramps I was having were contractions. Just a few hours later, I would know just exactly what contractions were! Eddie and I were so nervous yet so excited. It was definitely an amazing experience.
At about 12:30 am on May 11th, we got checked into the room and were assigned a nurse, Ruthie. At first, all was great. I was fairly comfortable and handling the pain quite well. Eddie was just settling in as we knew we had a long day ahead of us. Believe me, Ruthie, the nurse, let us know more than once. A few hours later, the pain became more intense. I informed Ruthie of the pain. She instructed me to try and work through it, that I wasn't anywhere close to being to the 'strong' ones. All through my pregnancy, I was always paranoid about being that girl who couldn't take it or that always thought she was in labor. So, I held my breath and tried again. But, soon after, I called. When she got around to it, she came back. She told me that with first babies it is always a long process, but if it got to the point I couldn't stand it to call her as she could give me something to help. About 6:00 am, it was that time. I think I might have bitten Eddie's hand. I don't remember the pain, but I do know it was something I had never ever felt. Ahhh! We pushed the call button. 10 minutes. Nothing. We pushed the button again. 10 minutes. Nothing except the same "we'll let her know" response. About this time, Eddie was getting upset. He called and told them I was in a lot of pain and to please send our nurse in. We waited. Again nothing. Now it's 6:45 am and I am hurting! Eddie couldn't take it. I kept trying to tell him that maybe she was super busy and that she was helping in a delivery or something important. He went to the nurses' station himself. Boy was I wrong, there Ruthie was sitting down doing paperwork. He explained the situation only to be told that Ruthie's shift ended at 7 am and that she was doing her end of shift paperwork. He was told that our day nurse would be in shortly.
Straight up 7 am walks in my angel, our day nurse, Robin. She sensed that I was in a lot of pain and immediately gave me some medicine to take the edge off. She then called Dr. Motley right away (who by the way is super awesome). Dr. Motley told Robin to order an epidural as soon as I want one. Seriously? She didn't even ask me, she just ordered. A short time later, I'm feeling great! At 1:23 pm, Elliott Kate Roe entered the world. Robin was there the entire day, rubbing my head, making sure I was comfortable, coaching me through each step. She handed me my sweet baby girl for the first time. Tears streamed down her face as I became emotional showing off Elle to my family for the first time. For the next two days, Robin was happily there with us and we were more than happy for her to be. To tell you the truth, when she left for the night, I felt lost.

Ruthie performed her job for what it was... a job. She went through the motions, getting in and out. She's been here and done that. As soon as she began her shift, she was counting the hours until it was quitting time. Could I have caught her on a bad day? Sure. But, not once did I feel like she cared or that she was there to help me.
Robin began working before her shift started. The love of her job was obvious from the minute she walked into the room. She made me feel like I was her only patient. Robin cried after MY baby was born. Even though she had been doing this for 13 years at that time, you would have never known. You would have thought this was the first time she had seen the birth of a baby. She completely understood the magnitude of this experience for me, Eddie and our entire family.

As I reflect on each child that left my classroom yesterday, I pray that I was their Robin, not their Ruthie. The experience I had 2 years ago inspires me to not just do my job, but love every single minute of it. My hope is that I made each family feel as if I am a part of their world. I want it to seem as if it's the first time I've ever seen a child learn to count to 30 or master all the letters of the alphabet. As I complete my fourth year of teaching, I hope to be like Robin when it's been fourteen.