Thursday, April 30, 2020
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I have many memories of my good friend. When things were busy on L&D, Linda appeared. If the rooms needed to be turned over and housekeeping was unavailable she would grab a mop and a bucket and start cleaning. To put it simply, it was her labor floor. If a good mopping stood between the next laboring patient and a room, then mop she would. While many people grumbled and complained, Linda rarely did. Linda, in fact, was the sounding board for everyone else. Her door was always open, whether you had a serious problem or if you just wanted to chat. I was honored when she chose me as her health care provider. I have such great respect for her. I was even more honored when she asked me to take care of her daughter Laura. I delivered 3 beautiful grandchildren for my good friend. Her children and grandchildren were the loves of her life. If you stopped by her office, their pictures surrounded her. She and I spent quite a lot of time discussing our families and our gardens. She finally had a chance to see my garden, last year, when I had a surprise retirement party for her in June. She hated going to parties of any kind. She always had a ready list of excuses as to why should could not go. We pretended it was a party for her good friend Ann . The day prior, when I was hip deep in party preparations, Ann called me and told me she had not heard from Linda. Linda was supposed to be coming to the party with Ann. I immediately called Linda who told me Laura's husband was under the weather and she might need to babysit. I called her daughter Laura to see if this was true and then invited Laura and her kids to come as well. Next, I told her Ann needed Linda to drive because Ann was having car trouble. It is shocking that she did not catch on. She did arrive, about an hour late. When I told her the party was not for Ann but for her, she said "Stop it!" and looked at me as if she would kill me. Then she looked up and saw her daughter Laura with grandchildren in tow and she smiled. After that, she looked around and saw her friends, not just current people she worked with but people who had long since left Bryn Mawr. It was such a lovely day of good food, good friends and reminiscing. That was Linda. She cared deeply about everyone around her but she had a difficult time letting us show her how much we cared about her. I will forever miss her warm smile and open door. I hope she is at peace.
