Wednesday, December 30, 2009

At the New Year

Well, I, for one, am not sorry to see this year draw to a close.  I have been on an emotional roller coaster since the dawn of last year, fighting San Francisco City Hall and Mayor Gavin Newsome and the massive budget cuts to the Department of Public Health. There was a subsequent loss of many services to the indigent poor, especially to the elderly and children of the city and, of course, hundreds of dedicated workers, many with years of service, such as myself ( 21 years as a forensic nurse ) joined the ranks of the unemployed. 

Trying to make do, on a half time pension in the Bay area, has been a nightmare.  While the four nurses in my agency covered around the clock, our benefits were only paid on twenty hours per week.  We were given  a per diem, higher rate of pay on the other hours, but did not receive benefits.  Twenty years ago that did not seem so bad but retirement, at that time, seemed far in the future.  Goodness, how the years flew by!  Nursing always appeared to be one of those secure jobs where you were safe from layoffs and the whims of the budget.  Social workers and therapists lost their jobs but nurses did not.  Suddenly, all that has changed, even in the acute care setting which is most alarming.  Fewer nurses are having to care for more seriously ill patients, without the assistance of qualified licensed vocational nurses and adequately trained staff.  Patient care will suffer and fewer nurses will choose to enter the profession.  It is a no win situation.  I look back on forty years in the profession and think sadly of the changes I see. 

So, farewell, 2009!  I am putting it all behind me, with prayers that things get better for all in the New Year.  I hope this world doesn't spin out of control and I pray that someone will see that peace is the answer.  Children should live in a world free of bombs and hatred.

Don't be remiss in saying, "I love you."  People need to know that when they are with you.  The words ring hollow when you utter them at someone's death bed.  Hug your children, encourage them, laugh with them, cry with them.  Give praise where it is due.  Lead by example.  Try to leave this world a better place when you depart. 

For all my family and cherished friends of a lifetime, I thank you for all your love and nurturing, especially during this past difficult year.  For all the new blogging friends I've met since mid-September, I can't believe how much I've gained from you in so short a time.  It has been quite a whirlwind and you have helped me maintain my sanity in the past ten months.  Thank you so much. 

Here goes another poem.


At The New Year

It doesn't seem quite possible.
A year has gone so fast,
As time is running out for me,
I try to make them last!

I guess it's true, that saying,
Time and tide don't wait,
But it wouldn't bother me,
If they would hesitate.

Are we in a better place,
Than last year at this time?
War still rages all around,
And we're overrun with crime!

I hope this world grows friendlier,
Starting, first, at home,
Then we must carry that spirit,
Wherever else we roam.

Keep your resolutions simple,
Things that add joy to your life,
Little changes often help,
Eliminate some strife.

As 2010 makes its debut,
I wish you the best of years,
My love to all of you and yours,
I raise my glass in cheers!

Carmen Henesy

Copyright (c) 2009 by Carmen Henesy
All rights reserved.



28 comments:

  1. Carmen you are the BEST!
    how nice your gratitude, how little, yet deep you ask for the new year... and such lovely observations all the way through. Just great
    I really hope you can celebrate each single day of 2010 with joy... and ... Cheers back, from the many miles!

    Dulce

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  2. Well after reading this post of yours, for the first time I feel as if I know you in person...you have beautifully shared your life withs us for which I must thank you.
    Hope the New Year brings all that you ever wished!!

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  3. I wish you have a Great Year 2010 !!!

    Hugs from Barcelona

    Valery

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  4. Well said! We wish you enormous splendors and delights in the New Year!

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  5. Hi Carmen! It seems the crisis reached all... Don't give up!

    Blogtrotter has reached the January 2009 trips! Not bad; just one year delay... ;)
    Enjoy and enter 2010 in great shape! Wish you all the best for the New Year!!!

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  6. I loved your poem, ALL the best in the New Year.

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  7. great
    like the graphics.
    happy new year

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  8. Happy and Healthy New Start! Keep up the voyage through life. One never knows what's around the corner.

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  9. Hi RNSANE! I hope that you took up at least one of those invitations at Christmas...I was thinking about you. You touch the hearts of many with your life (my dear friend)our "love" and gratitude go out to you..and your poetry keeps us warm with your chosen words. Never let go of the Faith that keeps us whole...with Love and admiration for you.

    bessye

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  10. Dulce - I plan to make the most of this New
    Year - it seems strange, starting it not
    working. I hope I can end it differently!

    Sishir - good that you know me better - so we
    won't be strangers when we meet in India!

    Irredento Urbanita - I wish I could have met
    you when I spent four days in Barcelona in
    October...I'm afraid, now, with my retire-
    ment, I won't be able to return!!

    Travelingjoan - I will be on constant lookout,
    my dear, for those splendors and delights.
    I wouldn't want to miss one!

    ruma2008 - it will be a pleasure to continue
    our friendship on into the future!

    GMG - great shape, oh my dear, would that I
    could be in the shape that my 25-year-old
    former decathlete son envisions for me!
    I so enjoy living vicariously through your
    wondrous journeys. I have had some great
    ones myself but not to the extent you have.
    I will continue to see the world through
    your eyes!

    cinner - thank you for joining me...and also
    for the good wishes for the New Year. The
    same to you!!!

    sm - may 2010 be the best year ever for you!

    lakeviewer - I have so enjoyed your blog this
    year. You are such an inspiration!

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  11. i wish this year will be a better year for all! happy new year carmen!

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  12. Carmen, I am wishing you a very Happy New Year and 2010 will be filled with all good things for you I am sure......you have been such a treat to get to know these past few months, I loved your poems and reading about your travels, something I have always wanted to do. Blessings and Hugs.....:-) Hugs

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  13. Margie: I am so happy to have met you in the blog world. May you have the best of all New Year's and I'm going to find you a nice gentleman of your very own.

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  14. I like your possitive attitude, and yes Carmen, last year had been a nightmare for me too.

    Wishing you a wonderful and a great New Year!

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  15. thanks for sharing a piece of your 2009 to us Carmen, it really is heartwarming to see how one moves on with strength despite the challenges, and how one looks forward to a better tomorrow for there will be. thanks for sharing to us this hope and joy, and I join the rest in wishing you a wonderful New Year and may your 2010 be wonderfully blessed.

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  16. Carmen, I wish you all the best in the upcoming year. Three cheers for you!

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  17. You just have a Wonderful New Years and enjoy yourself!!
    No upsets this year! I Promise!!
    Hughugs

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  18. Carmen- Your Osaka lunch looks very colorful and appealing to all the senses. Happy 2010 to you!

    Thanks so much for the review on Blogged. It's the first one I've received, and I really appreciate it.

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  19. I agree so much with what you said about nursing as a career Carmen. I left the profession as I was so appalled by the lack of care and supervision I was seeing in the hospital I was working in.

    Better days ahead in 2010! It has been nice getting to know you in 09!

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  20. I try not to think of the bad economy that has befallen all of us, but reality is hard to avoid. I am glad that I have met you and others like you here in the blogging world though, which has been a very bright spot for me this year.

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  21. Cheers! Cheers to you, Carmen, and to me, and to all of our loved ones! And to another fun poem of yours! Cheers cheers and cheers!

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  22. Carmen, I do hope 2010 is easier for you. I related to your poem and send love and hugs to you and all who visit here. Thank you for visiting me. xa

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  23. How do you tell someone you love them in cyberspace. It feels as if it will not ring true yet I do want to tell you that I love you, with cyberlove I guess. Since I have been following your blog you have been a delight to me. Your memories of your travels and your poems are always interesting and I wish you would tell us a few stories of your days as a forensic nurse - it sounds so interesting. Have a joyous 2010.

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  24. Ayie - this HAS to be a better year. I am glad
    you are a part of it!

    Bernie - getting to know you has been one of the
    bright spots of the last few months of this
    year. I am happy blogging has brought me new
    friends! I send blessings and hugs back to
    you!

    Margie - now that's an offer I will take you
    up on - a nice gentleman of my own!!! Wow.
    Happy New Year to you and Edna.

    Icy BC - looks like we'll have to take each
    other by the hand and make this the best
    year ever!

    Betchai - thankfully, my computer made it
    through the year and I finally heeded my
    friend, Poetic Shutterbug's encouragement
    and started blogging. Meeting friends like
    you has helped so much and your blogs have
    been a great source of delight for me.

    fullet - my Catalan friend, how nice to begin
    to know you better but we missed our chance
    to meet, I'm afraid. I don't know if I'll
    ever get back to Spain....waiting on the
    lottery!!

    Donna - sounds good to me - no upsets!! The
    best of New Year's to you.

    Sharkbytes - lunch at the Osaka Hotel was as
    delicious as it was visually beautiful!! I
    was glad to write the review. I enjoy your
    blog so much.

    Pat - I keep forgetting you are/were a nurse.
    It is sad, isn't it, to see the changes
    taking place. I don't want to be in the
    hospital, that's for sure!!

    Happy New Year and I'm looking forward to
    many more wonderful NY blogs.

    Ratty - I never thought I would be fond of
    anyone with the name "Ratty" but I am! I
    love your blog and I don't really love rats.
    I have learned a lot from reading it,
    though, and I always look forward to it.

    C - so glad you like the New Year's poem. I
    send wishes for a wonderful year to you
    and yours.

    Alaine - it's good to see a new face here.
    Happy New Year!!

    A human kind of human - your comment warms my
    heart. Thank you so much. I'll talk about
    my foresic nurse work one of these days...
    most of it is sad and of a confidential
    nature so I can't share that but I will
    tell you all about some of the heartwarming
    parts.

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  25. Wish you a very happy new year and may all your wishes get fulfilled in 2010

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  26. I can assure you that in Italy the situation is pretty much the same, let alone in the UK, which is collapsing. I think hoping for a better 2010 is not enough, we need to MAKE it better! Happy New Year!

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  27. Carmen Dear,
    Joe and I fondly remember our fabulous trip with you and the girls to Italy and Croatia--we're hoping to go somewhere next year--Georgia's first baby due on January 13th, so we'll be travelling a lot to Chicago--also have a trip planned to NYC (home to my heart) in April. Our daughter-in-law, Amy, is attending Westminster College in PA--just across the border from us--for her second degree--and I am caring for the children, but we look forward to seeing you. God bless you for all the work you have done for "The least of His Children"... I shudder to think how thy all need you and your colleagues--all I can say to you is our wonderful Irish Blessing: " May the Roads rise to meet you; Mat the winds be ever at your back; May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields, and, until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand" Love, Jane and Joe Sainato

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  28. Thanks for sharing Carmen! What cruises do you have lined up for 2010?

    Happy travels and have a blessed New Year my friend!

    -Angela Petitt (Angelwings1723)
    http://sabbaticalscapes.wordpress.com/

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