Nurse’s Aide

I went to Easter Sunday Service at a beautiful little old church; the windows were stained glass; the domed cathedral ceiling was polished wood; the lights were long lanky cylinder chandeliers, and the old hard wood floor was in pretty good shape for the shape it was in.

I noticed two ladies sitting in front of me and the thought ran through my head, they look a lot like the traveling nurse that visited us way back when. I don’t remember much of the sermon; I was deep in thought remembering years passed, remembering my young dreams, trying to imagine a future.

When the sermon ended the two ladies turned to me. I smiled and they introduced themselves. Sure enough they were nurses. The older one had been a traveling nurse and the other one was still a traveling nurse. We chatted for a while, gave each other hugs then left the sanctuary to move on with our days. I mentioned the two ladies to Grandma after I got home as we were making oven fried potatoes for dinner, how nursing is a hard job, “Yes, I know; I was going into nursing,”  “You were a candy-striper, right?” I asked because I knew her time of working at the hospital during her high school years. “Noooo,” she said as only a grandma can, ‘candy-stripers brought candy and books. I took blood pressures, temperatures, emptied bed pans, barf bowls, changed beds, whatever needed to be done. And we rubbed backs, back then every patient got a back rub before lights out.”

“You were a sophomore?” I asked. “How did you get the job?”  “I was a junior in high school. We had to apply to get the job. 250 kids applied. 20 or was it 25?” she paused to reflect, “I think it was 25, were selected after we interviewed.” “You didn’t take flowers and books to patients?” I asked. “Noooo,” she said as only a grandma can, “that was candy-stripers. They didn’t get any training. We got trained. Six weeks training in the classroom and we got uniforms. Next, we trained for six weeks on the floor and got this little white cap before we were turned loose to do the jobs we were supposed to do.” “You got a nurse’s hat? That’s a pretty big deal.”

“Not a nurse’s hat. The LPNs (licensed practical nurse) and RNs (registered nurse) nurse’s hats were totally different. It was just a little cap. I worked from 3:30 to 11:00 p.m. after school. The first half hour we were briefed on what happened with our patients during the day. Sometimes I had 13 Patients. I did the work the LPNs and the RNs didn’t do and freed them up to do the other stuff. We couldn’t give shots or medication. For every shift there was one RN and one LPN with all of us. I did that until your dad, and I got married and we moved,” she told me.

I continued to peel and cut then wrap the potatoes in tinfoil to be put in the oven for dinner while imaging my mother, a junior in high school, as a nurse’s aide; thinking about her past; her young dreams that lead to a family; to a life full of knowing and how she gathers knowledge continuing to imagining the future.

Grandma’s Oven Fried Potatoes

4 or 5 medium sized potatoes cut into 1 ½ to 2-inch cubes.

2 tablespoons oil

Good sprinkling of each: Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder (optional)

In a plastic bag or a bowl toss the potatoes with the oil until they are coated but not saturated. Put the potatoes in a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with half inch sides) or in a large cake pan in a single layer then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Put in the oven at 425 ℉ for 15 to 20 minutes until done. Choices: Instead of or along with the salt pepper and garlic powder other herbs and spices can be added. Any dry seasoning blend will work so long as it tastes good on potatoes, after all our potato chip industry has made billions on dusting potatoes with herbs and spices.

In 2000 Michele Priddy left the work force to become a stay-at-home mother and wife. Being a one-income family in today’s society meant she had to learn to budget quickly. Food became a priority early because she wanted the children to have the best nutrition, she could offer them even on a budget. She also taught cooking classes on how to stretch the food dollar with simple ingredients at various churches in her community. Michelle has put her kitchen strategies and recipes in booklets, her church newsletter and also in her hometown newspaper, The Goldendale Sentinel. We hope you will enjoy her strategies, stories, and recipes. You can contact the Leavenworth Echo at Reporter@leavenworthecho.com or 509-548-5286 if you have any questions or comments for Michelle.