I'm lovin it!

Recently I have realized that I really truly love my job and here are the top 10 reasons why (in the last couple weeks) that is:

10. Sweet nothings...
In the playroom I have a poster that says "If I could "leaf" the hospital, I'd go..." and then kids pick a paper leaf a write their wish on it. Some write "home" others "Toys R Us" etc. Last week when I walked in, I noticed one kid wrote "To play with my friend Jill". Oh how sweet!

9. Smart kids...
Kids always amaze me at how they teach me to teach other kids. I was doing medical play the other day with a school aged kid. Her doll needed an IV so we got out all the medical stuff. As we opened the needle, I explained that you pull apart the two pieces of paper and it will open it... "kinda like..." I stopped and the kid goes "STRING CHEESE!" Yep! That was a perfect explanation! Its now a part of my preparation that I use with other kids!

8. I get to play...
I walked into a teenagers room to see how he was doing. He engaged super well in conversation and we were talking about what he liked to do for fun. He mentioned PlayStation (which is one of my favorites as well). So, of course we started talking about guitar hero and he goes " Well, I brought it from home. Its over there. Do you want to play?" Umm... yeah! Was my first reaction, But I said no- I really shouldnt. However, he kinda egged me on... so whats a girl to do! I had to show him up! So we sat and played- but in the end, he totally kicked my trash! Oh well... it was worth it!

7. Anatomy lessons...
I was making a puppet with a 4 year old the other day. She started drawing the mouth and asked if we should put teeth in it. "what do you think?" I asked her. She started drawing the bottom row. I asked "should we put teeth on the top too, or just the bottom?" I really was just "making conversation" but the look on her face was priceless. It was almost as if she thought that I really didnt know about teeth. She says "On top too! Here look in my mouth (she opens wide) You see? (pointing at her teeth.)There are teeth on the top AND the bottom. Okay?!"Okay. Got it!

6.Self Esteem boost...
When I prepare children for surgery, part of my prep includes me putting on an OR hat and mask so that kids can familiarize themselves to what the DR's and nurses will look like in the OR. (One kid asked me why I put a lunch lady hat on! hehe). We talk about what they are for and so the kids can see that its the same person with or without the hat and mask. Well, I always try to make a joke of it and once it backfired on me. I put on all the gear and said to this 6 yr old girl. "Dont I look beautiful?"(Said, as I modeled it like Vanna White).Then I asked "Now, do I look better with or without it?!" And she replied "WITH!" I thought- maybe I should really try to look better when I go to work!

5. To kids, I am as funny as a stand up comedian...
I was spending time with a 2 yr old that needed a little extra TLC. She had some stickers and started putting them on my shirt. Again, trying to be funny, I put one over my mouth and attempted to talk to her. Of course it was just mumbling. By her reaction, you would have thought that I had told her the funniest joke in the world! The nurses down the hall heard her laughing! It even got me laughing that I started crying. She was laughing so hard that her face turned red! Then she took a big sigh (as if to catch her breath) and said "That funny!" And then, of course, we proceeded to do that for the next 10 minutes. Each time her laugh became more and more fake- but I will never forget that first time-- That was real as real could be! Hey! At least I know what my first line will be if I ever get into stand up!

4. Extra love...
Whenever I work with kids, one of my main focuses is to help the find out how to cope with their pain, worry, fear etc. We usually go through it before and then practice it. (I.e. take a deep breath, squeeze someones hand etc..) Well, One day I knew this 5 yr old was not so keen on taking medicine. So I went in and we talked about the "plan". She decided on her own something that I had never heard before. She told me that she wanted to sit on my lap, sip a little of the medicine, have a drink, and then kiss me on the cheek! I smiled and said- "Okay. If that works- its a deal." When the nurse came in with the meds, the little girl stayed sitting on her side of the bed. I was like "Hey! Whats our plan? How come youre sitting clear over there?!" I think she was surprised that I was actually going to do it! She ran over to me, jumped on my lap- and low and behold, it worked!!! See- at times, kids really do know what will help them best! And lucky me got a medicine kiss out of it!

3. Poop soup anyone?
I was walking down the hall, when I heard this little 2 yr old saying (and kinda singing) "poopers. poopers". I went in and noticed she was alone. I asked her if she needed her diaper changed and of course the answer was yes. I put some gloves on and undid the diaper. I will spare you the nasty details, but I really and truly thought "is this soup?" The way the diaper was, it was kindof like the bowl and it was FULL to the brim of liquid diarrhea! (Still, it makes me shutter to think about it). However, I just kept reminding myself how much I loved me job. Granted the big hug and her saying "tanks Jill" made it worth it. But- I think I can go through life without see that again!

2. Nicknames...
I have many of these in the hospital. However, each time I see this one 2 1/2 yr old, who spends a lot of time in the hospital, she gets so excited and then says "paydough?!" You see, we played with play dough awhile back and it has stuck in her mind. So now, no matter when it is, if she sees me- she yell it out. Now, her parents and some o f the nurses refer to me as "hey play dough- whats going on?!" I think she uses me for my play dough!

And last but certainly not least..

1.I am famous!
I worked with a little 5 yr old back in June when she came in with a dog bite to her face. We had a great time together. Her mom called me last week because they have to do some outpatient work (totally unrelated to the dog bite) and wanted to know if I, or the other child life specialist, would work with her daughter beforehand. "of course!" I replied, trying to fully remember who she was. Then her mom said, you know, she talks about you and Dominica ( the other child life specialist) all the time and she even named one of the scars on her face after you. One is named Jill and the other is Dominica!

See! As hard as I feel this job is at times- its moments like these that I realize that it really is a blast to work with kids! You never know what youre going to get!!! :)