Me pretending to be coy about nice compliments
I noted that during my speech at the joint leaving do ,my former boss laughed long and loudest at my comment that I professionally peaked before I came to Intensive care!
I reminded the room that I was no technical nurse
Four popular nurses have left at the same time, so of course the pub was filled with drunk nurses and doctors all swigging prosecco.
I was sober. I have to pick the Prof up from the airport tomorrow!
It was nice to be sober, and it was nice for nice people to say nice things about me.
Even though many of them were pissed!
What I did like was the " feedback" from a few nurses that ultimately moved me.
Thank you for supporting me
Thank you for giving me positive feedback
Thank you for making me smile and believing in me
Thank you for being kind to me.
Thank you for the back rubs and the stories.
My former manager said nothing to me. It was my peers and the junior nurses that talked the talk
That's all that really mattered, I thought on the way home
Yes, Just the best !
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
When i left on the 31st it was my peers,as it was for you, who were the kindest. I was given several gifts that required thought. And many sent me home with a gift for my sister too. It always feels good to be appreciated and i am pleased you were. My mom was an RN, so i know yours was no easy piece of cake job.
ReplyDeleteAnd regarding cake..one woman at work made me a lovely lemon cake and sculpted our Demon Puss for the topper.
Yes, that's all that really mattered!
ReplyDeleteMy best friend at work was actually my boss, the headmaster; unusual, to say the least! We're still pals.
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's all officially .... over. Are you still glad you called it quits? I hope you are. Retirement is a wonderful thing. Retirement with good memories is even better.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. Peers and juniors matter most. Which needs to be recognised more often.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that soon you will wonder how you found time to work.
To be loved and respected by your peers, is the greatest acknowledgement of a job well done. I am sure you are missed.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciation for a terrific human being and well deserved I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like they all loved you, in their own way. What could be better?
ReplyDeleteDebbie
It's nice to hear good things about oneself once in awhile. And being recognized for supporting peers and juniors is a high compliment.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the 'former manager' was not a favourite. I think the right people said the right things. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will be missed so much - especially if you gave back rubs! Seriously John, I'm certain it will not be the same without you, both for the staff and the patients.
ReplyDeleteNow onward with kitchen sinks and such!
Congratulations again on your retirement - you'll wonder how you ever made time to go to work!
The affirmation of your peers and juniors is indeed the highest compliment. Managers are so often conflicted by their 'gate-keeper role' and the pressure of the Almighty dollar - or pound in your case and I'll bet you were tough when it came to advocating for patient safely and outcome over £££! Congratulations to a fine human being, who had the sense to retire with fire still in your belly, and years to contribute to other areas of your community. I love reading of your daily life John. Thank you
ReplyDeleteRemember those comments, they will make you smile and know your value in the years to come. You made a difference in other's lives and for that you should be proud.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started my first job after graduation, a manager's wife, who was my yoga teacher then, told me that I must always remember this at work, "it is nice to be important but important to be nice" that thought has stuck with me ever since. I think you did the same and people you worked with loved you for this John.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Maria x
When I left the Chariy shop as a manager, one of the Trustees in his thank you speech said it was testament to my character that so many volunteers had come to my leaving do.
ReplyDeleteI wish the new very young manager where I worked for a few weeks knew this as I have left after her flippant comment which upset me.
I wonder why your former manager said nothing. Perhaps she saw the secret YouTube video of you imitating her in the sluice and your junior colleagues wetting their knickers in fits of laughter.
ReplyDeleteYou touched peoples lives...well done x
ReplyDeleteWere you all wearing green pullovers?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeletePraise from your peers is what really matters, they know what you did, what you do and the real you. Praise from them is praise indeed 😊
ReplyDeleteLovely comments from those who matter, John. Enjoy your retirement - but be warned, it gets very busy!
ReplyDeleteEVERYBODY loves you (except for 2 nasty trolls).
ReplyDeleteTwo? I thought i only had one!
DeleteDear John, I also worked for the NHS and I retired at 60 although having a stroke did not help. I know you are a kind man and a good nurse; I know you will enjoy your retirement; I know you will look back and laugh and tell anecdotes which will all be funny. How do I know . . because the NHS is made up of all the good, kind people who laugh and bring their life into other lives. Pity the Government does not understand all this. Enjoy your retirement, pet, you deserve it. Love Andie xxx
ReplyDeleteThis is such a loving, kind and wonderful comment, that I a stranger loved it.
DeleteWhen a friend of mine retired recently, all his former work mates got drunk and told him what they really thought of him. It turned out they had been bottling it up for years.
ReplyDeleteHow awful .. unless he really was a pr*ck, that is so mean.
DeleteTom, I love your stories. I really do. I WISH I'd been at that party. (I'm the lady who has a needlepointed cushion on my sofa that says, If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say, Come Sit By Me.)
DeleteVivian you are a hoot ! I love this.
DeleteYou're nice, John, and deserve those nice things said about you. I'm always fascinated how strict you all are about the drinking and driving laws; here in SA, people more often than not, drive drunk. As a teetotaller, I watch at "do's" how people imbibed freely and then get into their cars and drive off. Hats off to the Brits! xx
ReplyDeleteYou didn't need the approval of a former manager. Comments from the people who you had most connection with are really the ones that count. I am glad you had a leaving do - now you can get on and plan your next adventures! x
ReplyDeletePerhaps your former manager begrudged your popularity with your fellow colleagues. Glad you had a lovely time.
ReplyDeleteLeavings are bitter sweet. I think the best praise is always from your co-workers. You are funny and kind and people welcome that. Well, except maybe one. All the best.
ReplyDeleteYou look great, I am so glad for you to be retired and to be free again with time to do Things !
ReplyDeleteIt is lovely that they did a little celebration for you ..
I will have one here for you too ... I will call it a Hurricane :)
Well done, Mr. Gray!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to know when you've made a positive impact on someone's life, and it seems you were in the enviable position of being able to do so for a huge number of people. You should be proud of such an achievement!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to get that kind of positive feedback about the impact you've had with co-workers.
ReplyDeleteI hope I might get positive feedback about my impact on people, but it takes a sort of warmth and empathy I don't always have.
You're doing things right as a person, even if the boss doesn't say it, obviously.
Peer comments are the best . . .
ReplyDeleteI liked . . . "talked the talk."
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ReplyDeleteI bet many of the patients with whom you interacted would gladly have been there, too, to tell you how much you meant to them, if they had known. I agree with others: you'll soon wonder how you ever had time to work.
ReplyDeleteLinda P.
That sounds like a wonderful way to make a happy ending for this phase of your life, and the perfect "baggage" to take with you as you head into this new era.
ReplyDeleteNow you really have retired John. I am sure you are looking forward to having the Prof back tomorrow. Hope he has bought you a pressie.
ReplyDeleteIf you can remember the lovely comments jot them down somewhere and put them in a bottom drawer in thirty years they might trigger afew memories that might be fading. In these days of emails and texts I do try to make the effort to send the odd real letter or note to say thanks or make amends or whatever (scented notepaper of course:) Our NHS is very special and we mustnt loose it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for coming buy - I truly enjoyed your visit. You will have a wonderful retirement. Ha! Especially with all of your animal friends. But oh, how your patients will miss you.
ReplyDeletethe perfect "baggage" to take with you as you head into this new era.
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