The Day I ACTUALLY Got Paid to Cross-Stitch

Yesterday--with the full support of my supervisor--I spent half my eight hour shift stitching in the head nurse's office. Yes, it's true.

I arrived at three pm and went to my patient's room armed and ready to tackle whatever came my way, whether it be a fist, a restraint mitten, a chicken leg or an adult diaper (all of these have actually been thrown at me at some time or another), but to my amazement my patient had a full room of guests, all of whom seemed keen on keeping me out while they tended to their loved one.

The charge nurse agreed that it would be best for me to wait in his office while the family was there, so I did. For the first half hour or so I doodled in my notebook, thinking any minute someone would come in to tell me that the family was leaving. But after about 45 minutes, the daughter-in-law arrived with a carrier full of Starbucks coffees and dinner for everyone, so I knew it was going to be a while longer.

I pulled out the cross-stitch. I needed to do a large chunk of 'Garlic Cream' over the top six inches of the left side (see photo for the result!), so I pretty much went to town without needing to assess the pattern much. At one point the charge nurse came in an admired my work, saying he loves how 3D the pictures look when they're done. (Little does he know how painstaking it is to create that look). He sat down at the computer and checked his email on Yahoo.

"Hey Sarah, somebody's giving away a 52"x52" piece of counted cross-stitch fabric on Freecycle. Do you want me to grab it for you and give it to you when you're here next?"

As much as I wanted to validate the kind gesture with an affirmative, I simply said, "Thanks Ron, but once I finish this one, I probably won't do another. Ever."