When we’re gifted junk food

The holiday season is in full swing. Everything from the holiday carols being heard throughout the radio waves and in the halls of the hospital to the everlasting ‘holiday specials’ we see running rampant on TV. It’s hard not to notice.

It’s also the time of the year we as nurses receive more acts of kindness and appreciation from those we work with and those we have cared for in the present and past, than any other time of the year. I love this time of the year (but it’s also a curse).

This is when the physicians’ and their respective ‘office’ send their thanks in the form of food. Let me rephrase that, in the form of chocolaty delights. You name it, it comes across the nurses’ station. Cookies, candies and confectionery wonders plague the counter. An endless supply of decadence.

Then there are the current and former patients’ and their respective families! Wow! Homemade goodness galore! Either they drop them off while they are visiting their loved ones, or they send them via mail. It’s always such a great feeling to know they appreciate our efforts. Part of me kindly refuses the offering, but secretly I’m jumping for joy at the thought of getting more sweets to snack on. (Did I mention I have a horrible sweet tooth?)

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time saying no. I have an equally hard of a time knowing when to stay stop! Stop myself from eating myself into a sugary coma! Blegh. Talk about my head being bigger than my stomach (I hate it when my mother is right)! This is why nothing sweet exists in my household. If it’s there, it will get consumed. And my stomach will kindly remind me why you’re not supposed to eat sweets until you can’t breathe.

I must say in the end, even though my ‘healthy’ frame of mind and my guilty conscious will haunt me, it feels good. Feels good to know that even if it’s only a small gesture of appreciation by way of food – it still feels great knowing someone noticed. It feels good knowing that what we do doesn’t go unappreciated.

We often ask ourselves why the heck to we keep going back to work? What in the world possessed us to make this choice of a career? The tireless amount of hours worked, the exhausting stress-induced fatigue, and the endless feeling of being behind schedule and overwhelmed seem to silently fade away when we are recognized for our efforts.

“It’s the one time of the year when we all act a little nicer, we-we-we smile a little easier. We are the people that we always hoped we would be. “- Frank Cross from the movie ‘Scrooged’.

Not only do we get that recognition we all love to hear and all deserve, but we get it in the form of lip-smacking delicacies!

Did I mention I love this time of the year?