Sunday Scribblings:Gifts at the Hospital: Pork Chops, Shaggy Dog, and A Gift from the Sea

The word this week for Sunday Scribblings is hospital. It reminded me of December of 1977 when I had a time of sickness and surgery, but my strongest memory now of that time is the gifts I received.
When I fell ill that first year of teaching I was thankful I was back teaching in my hometown close to my parents. The doctor discovered I had cysts on both my ovaries which meant the removal of my tubes and ovaries. When I was laying in a hospital bed at twenty-two years old I realized two things. I would not be able to conceive children and I had begun menopause. I experienced my first hot flashes and let's just say I didn't handle these changes well. Back then you stayed in the hospital longer than nowadays. Mom's cure for my post-operation blues was to bring me a homemade pork chop dinner from her kitchen. I know hers wouldn't have had the fancy parsley, but when the foil came off one of the dinner plates from home and the aroma of Mom's fried pork chops and gravy rose up from the Corella plate, I found a cure for my blues.My dad was not usually demonstrative in his feelings and female "stuff" and hospitals were not in his comfort zone. The time around my surgery was hard enough, but a family friend had been killed in a car accident that week also. Dad went to be a pall bearer in the funeral while I was waking up from surgery. Later he arrived at the hospital with a huge shaggy stuffed dog which he places right on my bed. That was a gift that touched my heart. After being in the hospital a few days a guy I had only met a few times stopped by to say hello. JB was serving on the school board and I had talked to him on the phone about school related issues. He brought me his copy of Gift From the Sea. I still have this book with his book plate signed inside. I remember how much that book spoke to me at that time in my life and still does. Later after he was elected State Senator he was killed in a helicopter crash while logging. I have always cherished his copy of this book.

That stay in the hospital was life-changing for me. I felt blessed to be surrounded by family, friends, a fine hospital staff and to receive three special gifts: a meal from home, a stuffed dog, and a book of wisdom.

You can find other Sunday Scribblings here.