"Hey, Bojan, hello!" she starts, and I can feel the joyful excitement in her voice.
"Good to hear from you!" I say, as she continues.
"Let me tell you..." - she pauses slightly, as if to heighten the drama of the words that follow - "let me tell you that I have just today reached the conditions for retirement. Yes, today, 20 December." And she laughs.
"Wow! That's news! Congratulations!"
I am happy for her, I understand. I have been in a boarding house for three years now. 40 years of service is more than enough for most people. Years of work and responsibility take their toll, and the transition to retirement is, provided you are in average health, a welcome relaxation.
"But, you know," she says, "I'm going to extend it a bit more. Like two months."
"How so?"
"My parents need me and that's what we agreed. They have no real replacement for me, but they want me to bring in my successor. And I have a whole lot of unused leave."
"Already, already," I agree, knowing that my friend is extremely dedicated to her work as a nurse, "but don't you know that the Director of the Social Insurance Institution has personally advised in a public announcement that it is more worthwhile for an individual to retire this year than next year?"
"I know, of course I know, but I'm not going to change my decision for a little more money," she says firmly.
Before I can object, he explains:
"I have enough money. I don't need more for my lifestyle."
Hmmm, something like that!? Even though I have known her for years, I was amazed by her. She has had enough. She doesn't need money. And this at a time when the greed for money in our society seems to have crossed all reasonable boundaries. There are financial scandals, corruption is rampant and the rule that 'a man is worth what he pays' is enforced. She, my friend, seems to have come from another world. She must have sensed that I had fallen silent and was confused, but at the same time she said:
"I am happy and looking forward to my retirement. I don't have any lofty goals, I'm not tempted to go abroad, but I will cycle around Slovenia. I also have a nice garden where I get almost all the vegetables I need; my husband and I will go to the mountains from time to time or enjoy our time at home with the young people. There will be enough money for such a life."
We shared small everyday things for a while and finally said goodbye, hoping to see each other again soon. Her husband and I love to get together and enrich a Saturday or Sunday afternoon through dialogue.
My friend Metka is not rich in a material sense, in fact she never was. But she has much, much that cannot be measured or counted. Long after she has truly taken off her nurse's uniform, her kindness, compassion and beautiful words will remain. Especially in the memories and hearts of patients and others she touched in one way or another.
Our conversation that December afternoon is a short story. Yes, it's also true, it couldn't be more so. But what about - beautiful? Yes, beautiful too, although I wish I could find some better, richer words.
Bojan Rus, 27. 1. 2025
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