Nurses are amazing, aren’t they? They bandage your scrapes and give you cookies and juice in elementary school. They check us for scoliosis in middle school. In high school they tell us “nothing is wrong go back to class,” with a knowing smile on their face, or they let us rest through a violent stomach ache.

They administer chemotherapy and they take our blood for testing. They make sure we take all of our medication and they help us to the bathroom. They sit and talk with us and our families. They comfort patients in their times of need and they give you extra blankets.

Today on International Nurses Day, we want to be one of the many places acknowledging the extent of the work that these strong and compassionate men and women do. Although nursing may be as old as the fifth century, modern nursing is generally agreed to be started with Florence Nightingale, who even inspired a nursing school.

My nurse does a lot more than that, because she’s my mom. All moms have a little bit of nurse in them. And nurses have some of that mother’s intuition and compassion. So we salute you, nurses! And we salute you, mom.

There is a worldwide shortage of nurses. Anyone who sees how hard they work might understand why that level of dedication is hard to come by for communities all over the globe. Hey, if there were more nurses, we might not even need doctors! Now, please excuse me while I go take a nap at my mom’s place while she makes me tea. I need a nurse.