To everyone who survives nursing school, especially the instructors. And to the puppy with the power to soothe.
Normally, the nursing class simmered with a low-grade fear and anxiety over the next test, the lack of sleep, the insanely high homework expectations, and, on occasion, tiffs with other students.
But not the day the instructor stopped by with her 8-week-old goldendoodle puppy.
On that day, the goldendoodle cuddled into the instructor’s arms, surrounded by giggling young women . Even Susanna–the student who lashed out in class, defied the teachers, and questioned their credentials. Susanna’s face lit up with joy, eyes shining with a light that could only come from the smell of a 7-week-old pup wobbly on her feet with the newness of life.
Susanna left that day a little more at ease with the world, cheerfully saying goodbye to her least favorite teacher as she escaped the pressures of the classroom.
On the drive home to her three children under age 5, she dreamed about having a puppy of her own. She thought maybe when her hair was grey like that nursing instructor, when the studying was done, and the kids were grown. Maybe then she could have a soft ball of fuzz to wiggle in her arms.
Until that day, she’d get by on borrowed goldendoodle joy.
