Good Things!

I thought I would do a quick catch up before the holidays. I've been scarce around here, not because things aren't happening (they are!) but because typing is quite uncomfortable right now. The incision in the heel of my hand hurts, alot. I am taking some special neuropathic pain medication to try and calm the nerves so my hand doesn't feel like raw meat all the time. (I know that's a rather ugly description, but try living with it-it's the kind of pain that forces you to think about it every second of the day. Not fun.)

Anyway, in the good news department, I have the following to report:

My husband and I attended his company Xmas party. Prior to the party, the boss sent a note home asking that the men submit their wives' wish lists and maybe they would receive something from it. Less than half the guys read the note and did this. When the boss called those that had to come get the gifts for their wives, my husband came back with two boxes for me. As I started ripping the paper off the first one, I realized that it contained an iPad mini. The second box held a wireless keyboard for it. This was the only thing on my list and I had hesitated to let them know-it seemed like just too big an ask. We both got teary over their amazing kindness and generousity. This gift makes a huge difference in my life in terms of accessibility. I can now take notes at meetings-something that was impossible for me to do before. It will make the work I do much, much easier. I am so very grateful.

This week I won a box of turona chocolates from Purdy's, a BC chocolate company. When I was 16 and lived in Barcelona, I tasted turona for the first time and instantly loved it. It's a special chocolate that is sold during the holiday season in Spain. They are shipping it to me, so I am looking forward to a good mail day soon!

I also got an email about the work I submitted for a book, which was accepted a couple months ago. The author told me which pieces are going to be included in the book and I am really pleased with what she chose. The pieces were made using antique photos of my extended family. Yay! The book will be on shelves in the spring of 2015.

In January, I'm going to be doing some filming. I am going to be part of an educational video for a new medical program at UBC. I've been serving on a Health Mentors' advisory committee since September. The program is to help established health care professionals develop and strengthen their skills around patient-centered and collaborative care. I'll be filming my thoughts and experiences on this subject. For the first time I'll be using a teleprompter-I wrote the "script" (my answers to three questions on the subject) and it will be run to remind me what I want to say. This should be interesting, since I usually just speak without a speech or notes when I am presenting. Hopefully everything will go smoothly!

Before I sign off for now, I wanted to share with you a song I downloaded from the Indigo Girl's new Xmas album, called There's Still My Joy. I'd never heard this song before. It's wistful, sad and hopeful all at once. 

Here are the lyrics to give you an idea of what I mean:

I brought my tree down to the shore

The garland and the silver star,

To find my peace and grieve no more

To heal this place inside my heart.

On every branch I laid some bread

And hungry birds filled up the sky.

They rang like bells around my head

They sang my spirit back to life.

One tiny child can change the world.

One shining light can show the way.

Through all my tears, for what I've lost

There's still my joy,

There's still my joy for Christmas day.

The snow comes down on empty sand,

There's tinsel moonlight on the waves.

My soul was lost but here I am

So this must be amazing grace.

One tiny child can change the world.

One shining light can show the way.

Beyond these tears for what I've lost

There's still my joy,

There's still my joy for Christmas day.

There's still my joy for Christmas day.

Go download it from iTunes. I promise you it's beautiful.

I wish each of you a beautiful holiday season, however you choose to celebrate.