Give Christmas PresenCE to your loved ones! The real meaning of URGENT CARE!
Posted by Sonny Saggar on Fri, Dec 23, 2011 @ 01:09 AM
Urgent Matters THE blog for 'The Non-Emergency Room'.
Here's a thought. Instead of giving everyone Christmas presents, why not give them presence? Your presence as well as theirs? 
Parents who work all the time (emergency services, travel, department stores), do you realize how much your kids miss you? Instead of making a few extra grand by working 80 frickin' hours a week, consider refusing to 'sell Christmas', and give your presence to your family instead!
Spouses, you should do the same, especially if you're fighting more, even if money's tight and y
ou dread seeing each other some days because the most trivial comment morphs into a huge quarrel. Instead of giving each other expensive Christmas presents, why not give each other your presence?
I was asked to work in the ER overnight on Christmas Eve, for a ridiculously large bonus, but my wife stopped me and asked if I was seriously planning "to sell Christmas". She's right, as usual, and of course. So I decided that it certainly is better to be with my family, giving them my presence, instead of a few extra presents. My wife is always teaching me this kinda stuff. So are my kids.
A good clue is when my 4 year old asked if he could come to work me the other morning, or when my 2 year old asked if she could come with me to work for a nightshi
ft in the ER. I put her in the car and drove her up and down the drive and then dropped her at the front door, where she seemed most put out that she wasn't actually going to clock in with me! My ever-present wife of course had to tidy up the mess, wipe away the tears and kiss the little tyke, persuading her to go to sleep at 10.30pm, almost 3 hours later than when she was supposed to be asleep already!
So instead of going to amazon.com or the mall, consider what some hugs, kisses and personal time would do for your family instead. I hope my wife doesn't comment on this blog article, because she'd be the first to point out how I'm not always practising what I'm now preaching. And she's right, of course, and as usual.
Instead of watching your kids out of the corner of your eye, playing video games or endless hours of mindless TV, while you check your email/texts/tweets/facebook postings on your smartphone, perhaps it'd be a better idea to sing together, dance to your favorite songs, get all dressed up into the warmest clothes and go for a walk, start a fire (outside camping maybe, or in your own fireplace). Just do stuff together. Baking a cake? Have the kids do certain tasks. Make them feel useful, important and involved. These are the things they'll re
member. Not what they scored on plants v zombies. Not what Dora The Explorer, Curious George or Scooby Doo were doing on the TV. They'll remember your smiles, your laughs and your tickling them until they'd pee!
Maybe your wife needs a backrub (I know mine always does). Maybe your husband just wants to sit quietly and relax with a tea/coffee/wine/whiskey and hang out and chat about nothing heavy. Maybe you need to be the source of each other's definition of 'relaxation'.
Anyway, I'm not making excuses for guys. God knows we never buy our Christmas presents on time. I'm just saying Christmas doesn't come from a store. It comes from the heart. It comes from being together and sharing each other's presence, not just presents.
You could die suddenly tomorrow. You really might. I hate to say it, but it needs to be said. Shouldn't you always kinda consider that possibility, without of course being driven into some paranoid anxiety state, and do the things that are important to you, your significant other, your kids, your parents, your coworkers and your good friends? This adds a whole new meaning to the term 'urgent care' doesn't it? Shouldn't we be urgently caring and thinking about the people we love? Giving them our presence?
While I'm on the subject, your presence (and that of the people you love) can really be helped by looking after your health, both physical and mental. Of course, I've gotta segway this blog article into healthcare somehow right? Anyway, you get the idea. Look after your presence and give it to anyone and everyone you care about and have a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS this year!
With love from St. Louis Urgent Cares (always present and available except of course, we're closed on Christmas Day) and me, Sonny Saggar.
916 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63101 | 314.436.9300 | DowntownUrgentCareSTL.com
623 West 5th Street, Eureka, MO 63025 | 636.549.2100 | EurekaUrgentCare.com
Disclaimer
This blog is for general discussion, education, entertainment and amusement. Nothing written here constitutes medical advice nor are any hypothetical cases discussed intended to be construed as medical advice. Please do not contact me with specific medical questions or concerns. All clinical cases on this blog are presented for educational or general interest purposes and every attempt has been made to ensure that patient confidentiality and HIPAA are respected. All cases are fictionalized, either in part or in whole, depending on how much I needed to embellish to make it a good story to protect patient privacy.
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