Home Team

 

So grateful for this home team of amazing people I get to work with at Harborview- 

truly these folks have some of the biggest hearts I know. 

(Dionne, Lauren, Arlene, Elyse, and Gioia) 

Here's the reflection I wrote about one of my hospital visits today: 

Sometimes

The room was quiet
as mother and son
kept vigil together.

A full life of ninety‑seven years
was coming to a close.

And just like when he was an infant,
he is sleeping most of the day now.

Still, the mother and son
wait and watch
together.

As I spoke with the son,
he shared that he came
ten years ago from Hong Kong
to care for his parents.
I affirmed the honor and dedication
in this commitment,
but he simply said
this is what you do—
it is woven into the culture
to care for one’s elders.

And he expressed gratitude
that he has been able
to be here.

When I reflected on what a gift
he has been to his parents,
he smiled and said,
“That’s true… sometimes.”

And there it was—
the honesty of family life.
The way love can be steady
and still imperfect.
How we can be the gift
and the thorn
in the same breath.

We love imperfectly.
We love the best we can.
And the “sometimes”
is the truth we all know—
the truth we can laugh about,
and the truth that keeps us
trying to love
anyway.