What we experienced together was no more than a moment, just like that, gathered round a table. It was both nothing and everything. A moment that was strangely normal while we were sitting there, each on our own chair.
A moment of normality in a reality that for a year turned our lives into chaos. What relief! What a joy to be able to share such a moment with you, Ms. T.
You finished your meal. Your manners made me smile. For you, there is no need for cutlery. To us, our moment together meant at least as much as enjoying the meal meant to you. You left with a full stomach - we left with a light heart.
It was a moment of utter simplicity - which for us is as useful as our care kit.
Stop a moment, fit in a pause. Meet each other elsewhere than at the corner of Hurry Street and Noise Lane. To meet also differently. Because differences between our social conditions vanish while we’re gathered round a table.
Here is not a social worker sitting next to a homeless person. Here are people who share something and, at that moment, enrich each other.
Wow, we quite needed that…
Without you, there's no us
(*) We make every effort to respect the privacy of our patients and our professional secrecy. Nevertheless, we want to bear witness to how they have to survive and how we work together to reintegrate them. Therefore, the names of places and people are deliberately omitted or changed and real-life situations are placed in another context.
© P-Y Jortay - Street Nurses 2020