hyblaean- Julie

hyblaean- Julie
Location
Chicagoish, Illinois, USA
Birthday
September 30
Bio
40; army brat; bisexual... still living with my ex partner (uhm, it's complicated?); perpetually confused, which makes me look like i'm doing a ditzy act, but actually it's not put on; middle class in cash if not culture (freaking finally); INFP/INFJ; SSRI, lithium, nicotine lozenge and caffeine dependent. Driven to laziness, odd fits of needing to 'fix' things, subthreshold hypomanic moments of productiveness (rarely) and random weirdness (often). --------------------------- If you have regular suicidal thoughts, please try lithium. It's worth a shot and has worked wonders for me.

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MAY 27, 2011 12:48AM

The handmaidens of Death

Rate: 35 Flag

  stock-photo-folded-hands-over-a-japanese-flower-kimono-51766090

 

We sit, our work done sitting as opposed to other nurse's running, scurrying to beat the clock
waiting, waiting, we are part of the mechanism of this timepiece
the families flow in and out of the room, a rich set of personalities and color
usually in here is painted white- white sheets, white skin, white walls
There is a throbbing, rythmic beat to everything
thier hearts beat and beat, you think they will never end
until they do
a quiet stillness with weeping
the families worry endlessly before death and then weep after.
the same cycle each visit
I wonder if some of that isn't relief that the vigil is over.
That the fear and waiting is through for them and they sink down grateful that they can close their eyes to death again.
I keep mine open.
The other ladies talk about the suffering of the families and that the person has lived well and long enough, that the person is ready to die.
but the struggle, sometimes the struggle of them to stay alive and coherent is enough for me to wonder.
They never look old as they are dying, they always look so young.

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I've done that vigil. You capture it perfectly - the too long, too short of it all.

I have missed you.
and I you Natalie. I wish Australia were closer.
I read this five times, Julie.
Nurses are angels. I dealt with so many during my life.
Truly godsends.
I am so proud of you for doing this.
rated with hugs
I was that incoherent? :D
Thanks MTN
Thanks Linda, hugs back to you.
A grand post. Some of the best writing on OS in a while.
Rated.
Is it " a quite stillness with weeping,"
or " a quiet stillness with weeping" ?
- a friend wants to know ;-)

"... they always look so young," is a comfort,
whichever way you look at it - knowing that so often
the personalities and colour have gone home, and it's just you,
and all that white. All that stillness.
We sit, and listen, and see, and feel
these moments
with you
through your eyes
through your heart
as you bear such honest wisdom
to your work
the work we all should be so lucky
as to receive
from one as
knowing and as
loving as
you who
keeps her eyes
open as she
wonders
in the stillness.
wow.
high praise Scylla, Thank you.

IQ, and fear. that above all :/ Thank you for your kind assessment. I wish I had a radio to them where they are- did you get there safe? and all that. Most of all I wish I believed in a thereafter... or anything. Nursing has started me praying- not really to a god, but just in general. Help me be a good person, help me do right, help me not fuck up, make my patient not as scared as I. Laugh. Luckily I'm sure anyone that accidentally sees me frantically squeezing my eyes tight and mumbling thinks I'm talking to Jesus. I wish. That would be a comfort.

Kim, quiet, and Thank you! spell check doesn't catch it when I just use the wrong words :D
& I'm glad that gives you comfort. :) comfort is a good thing wherever you can find it

((LM)) Thankies Lady

*sniff* Thanks Anna. Yeah, wonder. Wonder as well as fear. Thank you for reminding me.
You have such a fluency with.. language? English? Those are the wrong words. I just mean you convey images and thoughts so much better than I'm able to. I think that's what I mean. Am glad I don't work in the medical profession.
I meant to say,
I'm proud to know you Julie.
This is so well-written, Julie. You capture so many contradictory emotions about death. That sometimes, it can be a relief, that sometimes, the patient is willing and ready to go. And sometimes, they're not at all ready, and keep struggling to stay a little longer. And then there are the families who wait and watch, and how things take so long, and not long enough at the same time.

highly rated
Natalie is right you capture your feelings and what you see happening around you effectively, eloquently, Julie.
Your sensitivity would make you depressed, Julie, so read stuff that hardens you a bit and prevents you from going home and crying. I worry about you sometimes - a big hug and kisses to the kid that always makes people smile. I know you are as old as me but I always think of you as a younger sister somehow in my mind, maybe bec I have no one to care for and prtect in my immediate vicinity. There is something so vulnerable about you, it worries me when I think of you.
Wait you said at Tink's you are his age, then you are younger than me by two years :) and no you are never incoherent, infinitely sad to read sometimes, but never less than coherent or lucid and clean and fresh as the waters of a mountain spring that cuts and leaps through the slush and weed crashes down on rocks slipping right over them, smartly flowing on to your destination. Rated.
Hard to read, so true. And they do look young.
This leaves me wordless. The silent witness, eyes wide open.
Perfectly told. ~r
Perfect. You have captured the vigil. Well done julie.
This is stunning. One of those rare pieces that goes beyond commenting. Just stunning.
You...blow..me...away...with..these..words...Julie...
I love this woman!!
It's people like you that make all the difference, Julie. you captured it all so well. Beautiful.
you've captured the essence of the vigil perfectly.
I read this over and over, Julie ... trying to put myself in your shoes for just those few moments. So many words, thoughts and images here just caught me ... I needed to stop ... just see... just listen ... just feel ... just be.

their hearts beat and beat, you think they will never end
until they do


they can close their eyes to death again.
I keep mine open


but the struggle, sometimes the struggle of them to stay alive and coherent is enough for me to wonder

they always look so young

I am in awe of you, dear, beautiful, Julie. Thank you.
There's a rushing tempo to this that leaves no uncertainty, carries the inevitability to its conclusion - expected, yet with surprise, as a wave breaking on a rocky shore. Or like a video on slightly fast-forward until the very last moments. Unusual and pleasing effect, Julie, despite the topic.
Very good, very compassionaate. I haven't been on many death vigils, but anybody conscious seems to try to hang on...for, hah, dear life. And those Left Behind are both relieved and bereaved. Birth is neat (well, timewise) and a calculatable event, but after that we just run down...and out... Get born, give birth, and then nature's done with you.
This is a beautiful reflection. I love the part, "I keep mine open."
R
They are fortunate to have you.
Your poem draws me into a sacred space I have been before, in a waking dream.
My Grandma died earlier this year, having lived to see 100. This brought it back . . . but in a good way . . . I have nothing but blessings for those who did the vigil with my parents, and with her . . .

This is some of your strongest writing, Julie.
That was a very moving poem. Thank you for sharing it.
I agree with everyone- you've really CAPTURED something so profound. It's so great when someone is able to use words so very effectively to describe something so seemingly ... intangible.
Greatness, julie.
one of the most powerful and true things
ever written about death=

They never look old as they are dying, they always look so young.
I remember my sister and I commenting how good our mother looked on her death bed. Strange how that happens..
Well done. I guess you found a position, also well done.
Sublime in its serenity; I long for your courage.
♥R
This had a slightly chilling effect on me, in the right way. Existential yet poetic feeling. The movement, the lack of movement, the beating, the lack of beating. The same things said each time. (Will anyone ever say, "That person didn't live well enough or long enough? Or that it isn't their time and this just sucks.")
I've been there, at my mother's bedside. It was relief that I felt.
"the same cycle each visit"
You carry an inner strength to be there for these passages. How many of us could do that, I wonder?
Thanks for sharing.
I've been there, at my mother's bedside. It was relief that I felt.
"the same cycle each visit"
You carry an inner strength to be there for these passages. How many of us could do that, I wonder?
Thanks for sharing.