As  I turned into the VA Hospital parking lot, I smiled at all the flags as they waved. To hear them beat against themselves in the wind sends a rush of great pride that I am allowed to be a part of the unique system that takes care of our veterans. 

Up on the ward where I volunteer, I immediately knew things were bustling. The nurses were focused, and the aides had only enough time to smile at me to say hello. I noticed a new veteran. He was small in stature, and he sat behind the nurses’ station, which immediately told me he is a handful. 

The nurse manager looked flustered.  It seems that when it rains it pours there.  She quickly whispered to me, “Can you keep an eye on him? Don’t let him bother you much.”  Because I am a nurse, she felt I was the best person outside of the nursing staff to handle him. I sat next to him and he grumbled something under his breath.  There wasn’t much you could understand of his speech, but it was very apparent that he did not want me to contain him in his seat.  He shouted at me and swore up and down he would punch me in the nose. 

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