Reason No. 5: Discovering good in the bad

Monday's can be hellish in the right circumstances. There's usually surgeries, as well as only two doctors. So while one doctor is doing surgeries, the other is basically going room to room to room. It stresses everyone out, and usually, everyone is rather irritated by the smallest things. Needless to say, when everyone is stressed out, overworked and under appreciated we can get rather irritated over the slightest things. Usually this is about our clients. Rarely it's about the patients. Anyways, this woman came in, and after a relatively steady afternoon wanted vaccinations for her dogs. We hadn't seen these two sweet dogs in over a year so I calmly explained every shot they were due for, as well as the fact that we couldn't give them a shot without having a doctor examine them.

After a three ring circus, she agrees to the exams and 1 shot per dog. We've all run around like mad people, shaking our heads, giving empathy for having to deal with this woman and in general being annoyed at the whole fiasco. Finally I'm able to grab a doctor, and I go into the room to get the dogs up on the lift. Anyways, we start talking, because its awkward not to talk to the client while waiting for the doctors. Most of them share a little about their dogs or their lives. It's idle chatter but good nonetheless. She asks about school. I explain that I'm done with my undergrad but applying to vet school. She asks the standard questions: How long does it take? Where did I apply? Have I heard anything yet? I give her the answers and she sits back, eyeing me beneath a thin line of fake eyebrow. You're smart to do that. Study while you're young and then you can have whatever you want. The honesty and the sheer confidence in me from a stranger was heartening. I suppose it's because I don't often hear things like that from the people around me. Yes they are supportive, but out-of-the-blue encouraging is rare and far between. Anyways, I suppose the moral of this little story is that even the most frustrating of people in this world have something to offer. Even the most annoying woman can make your day a little bit brighter with just a few words of encouragement.

I want to be a vet because sometimes there is a lot of good in the bad.