You never know

One of my longest childhood friends was in the midst of having her baby. She had asked me to be her doula, so I was there in the room. Her husband was too. In a hospital with a very high C-section rate and very few women who attempt a "natural birth", Nora was trailblazing one breath at a time. She has always been an incredibly strong person. Her mind is strong, her body is strong, her convictions are strong, she has a strong voice. So it didn't surprise me that she met each contraction head on. I watched her face and scanned her body for signs of suffering. Doulas reverse suffering back into pain. She moaned "These are like period cramps on steroids" but she was dealing really well. Her face had the smoothest birthing expression I had seen in a long time, even the nurse was impressed. When Nora stepped into the shower and her husband followed I stayed back in the room. The nurse had been coming in and out of the room all day. Having just graduated nursing school I was envious of her work. Twice a year that hospital announces openings for new graduates and thousands of people apply for just a few positions. She walked back in to put more paper into the fetal heart strip machine. I desperately mumbled a prayer for something to be made of my time with this nurse.
That is when she turned around and said "So what are you?"
"What am I?"
"Yeah, I mean, are you Nora's friend? Or a doula?"
"I'm both!" I said.
"Ohhh... okay. That explains it. You guys are so comfortable with each other, and you're so good at what you're doing. Really."
She sounded so sincere.
"Thanks. I love this." I said, pointing around to the scene.
"I can tell."
"I also just graduated nursing school. I want to do nursing in labor and delivery."
"Well give me your name and your number and I'll give you mine!" She pulled a paper towel out to write on. "You would be awesome here. Seriously. I've worked here for over 20 years and I've found one other person this way before. You should apply!"
"I did. But I'm waiting for the next session because I wasn't called back the first time."
"Okay. Well once there is an opening and you apply again, email me, and I'll talk to HR cause you belong here."
Then she handed me the paper towel and walked out.
Drowning in a sea of jobless desperation this 10-minute interaction gave me a renewed sense of hope and inspiration.