So let's talk about cake instead. Cake is a marvellous, sociable, healing thing and generally speaking nothing makes nurses happier. A bit of cake is good for the soul so whilst being mindful of Philippians 3:19 "Their end is destruction, their God is in their belly" and Proverbs 25:16 "if you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit" the arrival or promise of cake can sometimes be a shining ray of hope on a long and difficult shift, such as yesterday.
I had a lot of cake hanging round the house last weekend- my youngest turned six last week, plus we had friends round to watch the British Grand Prix- two occasions which warranted me putting my pinny on and getting the recipe book out. I love to bake, not because I have a crazy sweet tooth, but because I love to feed people and to bring them joy through food. I fed my family with cake, I fed my son's friends with cake, I fed my friends with cake...and there was still cake. So the cake went to work.
It's been a difficult few days on the unit. Sick patients, tired staff. Then the cake arrived. The staff were still tired, the patients were still sick, but we had cake and cake is awesome.
Eddie Izzard described the Anglican version of the Spanish Inquisition as "tea and cake or death?". Bringing cake for my colleagues I hope shows a generosity of spirit- not because I'm a Christian but because we're a team, we're all in it together, and sometimes when you're having a really crappy day a slice of cake can momentarily make it seem not quite so bad.
