Like You Mean It

Fresh Start

As I sit in my car calming my nerves on my first day at a new hospital, I contemplate on how I got here. Miles away from all my family and the few friends I had. In a completely different state, just trying to start over, as my own person.

I exhale a shaky breath before I fix the lanyard around my neck showing my credentials. Charlotte M. Harris, pediatric nurse. A title I worked hard for.

I walk out of my car and head into the hospital in my purple scrubs, tumbler with coffee in hand, and bag for my first shift at Boston children's hospital. I make my way in smiling at all that pass me by.

I notice the administrator that hired me, Dr. Erica Johnson, standing with another woman talking. They both look up at me and smile, Dr. Johnson waving me towards them.

"Charlie! I'm so happy to have you joining our staff!" Dr. Johnson has an honest smile and look on her face. "I'd like to introduce you to your head nurse on the newborn floor, Ashley Williams."

The blonde standing next to Dr. Johnson smiles at me and extends her hand for a handshake. "It's nice to have you on board! We've all heard great things about you from the hospital down in TN."

I smile brightly, shaking Ashley's hand. "Thank you, I'm happy to be here!"

"Well, I'll let you get your day started! Welcome to Boston Children's hospital." Dr. Johnson walks away with a smile and wave.

I turn my full attention to Ashley, her blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail, her greens eye slightly obscured by black rimmed glasses. She looks to be in her fifties, with a warm almost motherly smile. She reminds me a lot of my own mom.

"Well, come on, let's get you settled in. We are on the second floor, which is where labor and delivery is for moms with high risk pregnancies or something has already been diagnosed that will require immediate care for the newborn. We have doctors on sight, but we also have doctors that come from their offices once called by the parents. We like to accommodate everyone's preferences, so we have no issues with outside doctors coming in. We are a pretty close team, and our job is tough, but we love it, as I'm sure you know."

I nod in agreement. Nursing is no joke. Long hours at a hospital, uncooperative patients or patient's parents, sometimes having to work with terrible doctors, and not getting the recognition we deserve. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's all I've wanted to be for a very long time, and pediatric nursing was what I fell in love with.

We arrive on the second floor and are met by the chaos that is working at a hospital. Nurses going in and out of rooms, doctors looking through notes, nurses filling out charts, babies crying, the works. I feel at home here, as crazy as that sounds, I really truly love my job. The fast pace, the rewarding feeling when you help kids, it's enough to make up for the downsides of being a nurse. We get to be princesses, fairy godmothers, and heroes to little kids and babies.

Ashley leads me to the lunch room and shows me the locker that I can use in there to put my stuff away. I put my things away before following her to a table where there are 3 women standing talking while filling out papers. There's two blondes and a brunette, who seem to be close in age to me.

We approach them and Ashley introduces us. "Ladies, this is the newest member of our nursing staff, Charlie. Charlie, these are Mandy, Mel and Riley."

Mandy is blonde with hazel eyes. She's got a bright dazzling smile on her face as she waves at me. Mel is brunette with chocolate brown eyes and tan skin. She waves at me with a big grin. Riley is blonde with dark blue eyes, and an even bigger smile than the other two. I can tell they are very bubbly people just from their smiles.

"Welcome to the crew! I'm Amanda, but I prefer to go by Mandy. If you need me to explain anything or help you find your way I'm always happy to help." I nod with a smile.

"Same here, I'm more than happy to help you out as you get used to working here." Mel says with an honest look on her face.

"Consider us your personal guides and welcome crew!" Riley enthusiastically says.

I smile at them while scrunching my nose. "Thanks y'all, it's great to be here."

"Oh my goodness! You are too cute with your southern accent!" Mandy looks at me with a huge grin.

"Thanks." I reply shily while looking down.

"You have nothing to be shy about Charlie, we are all here to help. We will all happily help you if you need it!" Riley now says to me with a big smile.

I nod with a small smile. I remind myself I need to let go of the past and start concentrating on the present. Life hasn't always been easy, but I hope that this new fresh start is truly what is best.

The day flies by faster than I expected, considering I didn't see any patients today. I had to get set in the system, and I had to learn about how to file reports in this hospital's system. Since there are both in house and outside doctors that work here, it can get a bit more complicated than other systems. Ashley has been the one training me all day in everything I needed to learn here before I can be able to start seeing patients with doctors.

At my lunch break, I notice Mandy, Riley and Mel are also sat down eating. They wave me over and I join them for lunch. 

"So, tell us a little about yourself." I look over at Mandy and smile a little at her.

"Well, I'm from Tennessee, my parents still live there. I decided I needed a fresh start, prove to myself that I can be independent, and so here I am." I tell them part of my real reason for moving. 

I still don't really know these women, and I don't quite feel comfortable enough to start sharing my deepest secrets. I'm usually an open book, but some things I like to keep close to the vest until I feel comfortable enough to share.

"What about y'all? Did you grow up here?" I try to get the attention away from me, and I am genuinely curious about the women I will be working with.

"Well, I'm a Boston native. Born and raised, went to Boston College, and just stayed. There's no where else I would rather be than here. I love it!" Mandy says with a big smile on her face.

"I'm originally from upstate New York, but when it came time to choosing where to work, I decided to take this position. It's such a prestigious hospital that I was excited for even being considered! And I have no complaints, I love it here!" Riley says in between bites of her lunch.

"I'm from Puerto Rico, but I have a lot of family here in Boston. When my parents passed away I decided to move closer to family, and that's how I ended up here. It was a shock at first, only having come here for visits, never having to deal with the winters for long, but I eventually got used to it." Mel shrugs her shoulders as she finishes speaking.

I smile at all of them as I keep eating my food. "Well, I'm happy to be here too. And I can't wait to fully start with y'all."

They all give me their numbers to add to my phone before we go back to our duties for the day. 

By the time I clock out, and get home I'm tired and ready for bed. I take a hot shower to relax my muscles before warming up some leftover Chinese food for dinner. As I lay in bed later in the night, I pray that this move was the right decision, and that this will be exactly what I needed. 

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