People Who Share Their Bounty

Once in a while, I am truly astounded by the generosity of people. In addition to all of the intimate information that they share about themselves, I sometimes receive gifts from my patients. This week one of my patients brought me some canned goods from her garden. The jars included pear conserve, grape jam, homemade spaghetti sauce, heirloom tomatoes preserved with herbs and vinegar, and cooked wild pears. We had been talking about how nice it is to grow a bit of your own food, how it tastes better than anything you can buy at the store, when she announced that she was going to bring me some treats from her garden. I had forgotten about it for several days until she returned to the clinic toting a large basket full of goodies, some of which are shown here. Most of you know that I take care of many people without health insurance, and like this woman, they tend to work in low paying jobs. I was struck with gratitude at this woman's generosity and couldn't help but give her a big hug of thanks for all she'd done. How nice of her to take the trouble to do all of that and to drop by to give it all to me. And what a delicious surprise too; those heirloom tomatoes are swimming in the best garlic sauce I've ever tasted!

My other delight this morning was getting to meet Anna Elizabeth- all of 4 days old today. My work pal Sarah went into labor Thursday night and delivered her on Halloween eve about midday. Anna got to experience her first Halloween in Chapel Hill -from the inside of the UNC hospital, a much safer place than trolling down Franklin Street in costume. Mom and baby are doing great, and it was terrific to see them today before I had to leave for work. I had trouble tearing myself away from holding her to drive to the clinic. I can only imagine how it will feel for Sarah when she returns to work 3 mos from now.

Thanks to everyone who has shared a little piece of themselves with me this year. It doesn't go unnoticed or unappreciated.