Ashley Bolling, a mother of three, works her days as a hair stylist at the Captivate Salon & Spa. During her time at work, Ashley encounters a large variety of people with very different professions. One such customer who had come in was a nurse who had come in after an incredibly long night at work. As Ashley was styling this nurse’s hair, the woman in the chair had dozed off in the comfort of the salon chair.

“She’d been at work all night and hadn’t been to bed when she landed in my chair, but not before stopping to buy my breakfast on her way. As she dozed off, I gently rested her head on my stomach and continued to foil her hair…. then I noticed her shoes. I wondered how many miles those shoes have walked. I wondered what they’d walked through,” Ashley wrote in a Facebook post detailing her encounter with the nurse.”

As the exhausted nurse peacefully rested on Ashley, Ashley could not get past the woman’s shoes and the enormous amount of experiences this woman must have had while wearing them. The life of a nurse is not only grueling but also incredibly unexpected and full of surprises. For this very reason, Ashley could not help but look at the nurse’s shoes and imagine the massive amount of pain and happiness they have likely seen as they carried this woman through the hospital floors.

“I wondered how many hours they’ve carried her, and all those like her, while they literally save the lives of those we love and hold the hands of the ones who can no longer fight that fight. But with those shoes propped up in that chair, phone in her lap, I got the chance to take care of her (even if it was just for a few hours) and I felt extremely honored to take care of such a hard-working, inspiring woman,” Ashley went on to say in her post.

In her own little way, Ashley felt grateful to bring this woman a moment of peace the way she likely has done for so many others in need at the hospital she worked at. For Ashley, this incredible moment was just a simple reminder of how hard nurses work, and how many loved family members they help save or comfort during their time at the hospital. By posting this little story to Facebook, Ashley was able to display her admiration and respect for nurses while at the same time reminding the rest of the world how these nurses give so much to the loved ones in the hospital.

Here’s Ashley’s entire post for your convenience:

I had one of those “stop-you-in-your-tracks,” extremely humbling moments, while working quietly on the hair of a very exhausted, sleeping nurse.

She’d been at work all night and hadn’t been to bed when she landed in my chair, but not before stopping to buy my breakfast on her way.

As she dozed off, I gently rested her head on my stomach and continued to foil her hair…. then I noticed her shoes.

I wondered how many miles those shoes have walked.

I wondered what they’d walked through. Blood? Tears? In & out of the countless rooms of the patients she’s cared for?

I wondered how many hours they’ve carried her, and all those like her, while they literally save the lives of those we love and hold the hands of the ones who can no longer fight that fight.

But with those shoes propped up in that chair, phone in her lap, I got the chance to take care of her (even if it was just for a few hours) and I felt extremely honored to take care of such a hard working, inspiring woman I’m so lucky to call my friend.

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[Source: Facebook – Ashley Bolling]

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By Jenny Brown

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Jenny Brown is a senior writer at Shareably. She is based in San Francisco and can be reached at [email protected].