These are some of the sweetest days they'll know. And I pray that they remember them all. . . no, not individually. . .but just as one big blob of happiness that they refer to as "their childhood." I sure will.
Yeah.
***
Happy Spring Break. (Also known as a great excuse to live and love like you mean it without school or work in the way.)
Here's a tiny part of my brief happiness inventory over our last few days away from it all. Thought I'd share a quick little top ten in pictures and captions. Like to hear it? Here it go.
Let's keep this simple shall we?
#10 Happiness is. . . . .
. . . kids who appreciate the end of the long car drive allllll the way from landlocked Atlanta to the land-unlocked ocean. And who react perfectly when they first see the surf because seeing the surf is something to jump about.
#9 Happiness is. . . . .
. . . . turning a cousin into a mermaid.
#8 Happiness is. . . . .
. . . . witnessing six year-old yoga poses on the beach.
. . . . big cousins who don't mind having little cousins around. . . . .
. . . because little cousins like to be around big cousins.
#4 Happiness is. . . . . .
. . . . getting a new pair of extremely cool shades (and your mom not making a big deal when you choose to wear them at night.)
#3 Happiness is. . . . .
. . . . waking up to this view every morning.
#2 Happiness is. . . . . .
. . . .unexpectedly discovering that your very best second grade friend on the entire planet just happens to have overlapping vacation locations with you and your family. . . . . . .
. . . . . and your parents actually having their acts together enough to arrange a playdate for you that lasts almost until sunset.
#1 Happiness is. . . . . .
. . . . realizing that your children respect the power of love and friendship. . . . .
. . . . . and moments like these.
****
Happy Spring Break.
Now playing on my mental iPod. . . . for those who wear their sunglasses at night.
Honestly? I write this blog to share the human aspects of medicine + teaching + work/life balance with others and myself -- and to honor the public hospital and her patients--but never at the expense of patient privacy or dignity.
Thanks for stopping by! :)
"One writes out of one thing only--one's own experience. Everything depends of how relentlessly one forces from this experience the last drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give."
~ James Baldwin (1924 - 1987)
"Do it for the story." ~ Antoinette Nguyen, MD, MPH
Details, names, time frames, etc. are always changed to protect anonymity. This may or may not be an amalgamation of true,quasi-true, or completely fictional events. But the lessons? They are always real and never, ever fictional. Got that?