My friend Jack*

Ok! I'm back! I know it's been a while! I'm so sorry. I have been trying to get on here lately and every time SOMETHING goes wrong. Anyway... I want to talk about my friend Jack*...

Jack was a patient of mine from work. He was in his 60s. He was committed to FSH and he has been there a LONG time. All the patients on my ward will be getting moved to other facilities around the state as our building is being opened to a different set of clients. Anyway, one day earlier this week it was Jack's turn to leave. This is the cutest old man you've ever seen! OK... so he stinks up the ward somethin' awful when he passes gas and you have to help him in the bathroom and you have to check on him every 15 minutes and until you've worked with him a long time (and sometimes even then!) you can only understand a few words of his if you're lucky! But he is such a sweet and funny guy! He couldn't sleep the night before he left. He just wanted to talk! He was so anxious about leaving! He begged and begged to stay! "Can I please stay? I don't want to leave! I was committed here..." He CRIED! He almost got me crying! He left giving advice to everyone he talked to! We did get pictures with him (with permission from his guardian!) that he will get a copy of once he gets settled down in his new home. He got treated pretty special before he left. He got an extra cup of coffee. And at his request, he got chocolate! You should have seen the look on his face when I gave him that first piece of chocolate! It was adorable! You'd'a thought he won a million dollars! It was the cutest thing! It was tough to see him go, but that is part of life. Maybe one day I'll write that book he told me I was gonna write with all his advice in it. :-)

People! Please please PLEASE don't take advantage of the people you have in your life! Say "I love you" in the simple things. Like doing someone's laundry for them. (My boyfriend did that for me today.) Or giving them the last piece of cheesecake even though you really want it. Or leaving flowers in a vase in their bedroom simply because they mentioned they were pretty. Little signs of love make all the difference! You never know when they might be gone! Never leave angry! ALWAYS leave saying, "I love you!" Those three words should always be the last thing you say as you are walking away. You never know when they might be the last words you ever speak to them. I know that's morbid and sad but it is true. Do you really want the last words you say to someone be "I hate you!"? I don't think so. tell the people you love that you love them! I have a habit of oversaying it. (If that is even possible.) They always ask me why I always tell them that I love them. And the answer is, "I want you to know that I love you. And not only that I love you, but how much I love you. If there is any way of conveying that. And just in case this is the last time I see you, I want those to be my last words. It is true. I love you." And then a hug. What a beautiful gift. :-)

*Names have been changed to respect the privacy of those individuals mentioned.