No time to blog over the holidays! My favorite give from this cycle.

Well something had to give and it ended up being the blog. I managed to keep giving and it was what kept me sane and focused over the holidays. So I'm going to highlight my favorite give which was Day 29, the final give for this cycle. Early in the cycle I came up with the idea for a holiday care package for the hernia patients I care for. We have a doctor who specializes in complicated cases and they come to see him from all over the midwest. It's a very painful surgery and patients generally don't get to eat for many days following surgery. Not the recipe for holiday fun! I packaged up mint lip balm, cinnamon sugar free gum, hand sanitizer and a soft fleece blanket to place on the patients sore belly. I decided I would give it to whatever patient I felt really needed it over the holidays. So on day 29, the care package was still sitting in my locker. My last day scheduled to work before Christmas, 12/23, and by what I feel is no accident I'm assigned to a very sweet older lady who is hours away from home. She will spend the Christmas holiday in the hospital recuperating from hernia surgery. About half way through the day, I told her I had a gift for her and brought in my care package. I wasn't sure how she would react but she responded as if she had won the lottery. The blanket was blue, her favorite color, and cinnamon gum is also her favorite. The whole package cost me about $7 to put together but her reaction was priceless because she felt genuinely cared for. She told me I made her day and her reaction definitely made my day. Her response has inspired me to continue to randomly give this package when I find someone who needs it.

This first cycle has been an amazing experience. I felt stressed and anxious about problems in my life when I started and I ended being focused on the needs of others. I am filled with gratitude for all the blessings in my life and am ready to start 2010 with a new outlook. I'm ready to start a new cycle but first I'm trying to get my messy house in shape after the holiday chaos. No time to blog or clean! Happy New Year to all!