300 Days of Sunshine

Christmas tree in Sayulita, Mexico This Christmas felt different.  In true pandemic fashion, I found myself languishing through much of the regular holiday activities, questioning whether all of my time-consuming, elaborate traditions were really worth the time, and asking myself which activities would truly bring joy to my family and which would just add unnecessary stress or expectation.  This Christmas I thought a lot about my triggers and was keenly aware of the holiday atmosphere I was creating for my children.  I reflected on Christmases past and the moments that were most memorable, and my mantra became being present with my children and laughing off the things that didn't go as planned. This Christmas felt different because we also celebrated Jaycob's 40th birthday with a trip to Sayulita the week before Christmas.  Also in true pandemic fashion, the trip I had envisioned for years did not come to fruition, but instead we found the perfect little gem of a destination fo

Here we are again, right back to eerily similar circumstances to a year ago when we were mobilizing all resources to manage a winter COVID surge that was so much more devastating than anyone had anticipated.  This past week as we expanded the walls of the COVID unit yet again, cramming two beds into private rooms, counting the crash carts and oxygen tanks and N95s, transferring nurses from the orthopedic unit and ICU to cover the steady flow of COVID admissions, and making plans for allocation of resources under New Mexico's crisis standards of care, the thought on everyone's mind was, "Again?!"  How can we possibly be doing this all over again?  I don’t even know what to say. I don’t think anyone in healthcare right now knows what to say.  We’ve done so many things right with scientific research, controlled studies, developing treatment protocols, practicing collaborative care, rolling out the vaccine (and boosters), securing PPE, slowly opening and encouraging ongoi