Dr. Lisa's Bountiful Life

Dia de Gracias

When our children are very young, we are active participants in their lives. 

We feed and bathe them; clothe them and care for them.

We sing to them, talk to them and rock them to sleep.

As they age, they need us in different ways. We become less participants than active observers.

And sometimes the activeness of the observation varies greatly.

This week, I returned to active participant parenting: I joined my son in his volunteer life at Safe Passage in Guatemala. 

No longer simply watching him from the high school soccer sidelines or from the bleachers at the baseball field, I was once again by his side. 

We ate together; walked together. Travelled daily from Antigua to Guatemala City (and back) together. Rode the “chicken bus” to Pastorales with his friend Nico in search of red cowboy boots. Toured the Mercado, the artisan market and the catacombs of Mersed. Took photos of the volcanoes from the rooftop at Café Sky. Squeezed in tiny tuk tuk’s (micro-cab/motorscooters) together, to be transported over Antigua’s bumpy cobblestone streets.

Throughout the week, son introduced me to his friends and fellow Safe Passage volunteers. One morning on the volunteer bus, he even offered up my services as “stand-in Mom” to all whose parents were far away on Thanksgiving Day.

 Then yesterday, the American-inspired “Dia de Gracias,” I took part in not one, but two Thanksgiving feasts: one offered by his homestay parents, Jose and Lucky (complete with pie made with green pumpkins), and one that my son created with Nico, to feed their fellow volunteers.

 We sat under cardboard cutouts of Spanish Santa’s and blinking lights from the Mercado, with plates of stuffing and green beans balanced on our knees, and gave thanks for companionship and bounty.

 And I realized (once again) how blessed I am to be a mother.

This Thanksgiving week, I have been with my son. Firmly back in his life, participating in his world.

Mi hijo, now my man-child, has given me a gift beyond measure. A gift his sisters continue to afford me as well.

Sometimes it takes a journey of several thousand miles to remind us how fortunate we are. 

Safe Passage Volunteers, Maine contingent 

Dia de Gracias, 2011

 

 

 

 

Wait! I'm Real...

Hungry people, looking to be served.

Paying for the privilege.

Sometimes in honor of a special occasion.

Sometimes while on a long-awaited vacation.

No small amount of pressure for a waitress. 

Having had this role, I can say it ranked among the more stressful of my occupational experiences.

Having also been a frequent restaurant patron, I understand the importance of having a good server.

This past weekend my dear one and I witnessed an interesting interaction between a waitress and a female patron at an upscale hotel restaurant.

This French-speaking patron, who had clearly been at the hotel restaurant several times before, asked many questions. Her conversation with the waitress was extensive, and she was very specific in her requests.

The waitress dealt with the patron patiently, answering each of her questions and doing her best to maintain a positive interaction.

After a few minutes, the waitress skillfully shifted the conversation by engaging the patron in a different way: she began to talk about her 'other' life.

The waitress told the patron and her companion that she was from San Francisco, and that her passion was interior design. She mentioned a project she had been working on recently.

The patron and her companion listened intently. Their questioning became slightly more respectful, and the requests made in a less insistent manner.

In a manner of minutes, the waitress was transformed (in the eyes of the patron and her companion) from a "mere waitress" to a "real human being."

It was a bit of a risk this waitress took, engaging them in this way. Her tactics could very well have back-fired.

But instead they changed the interaction.

The waitress felt better about serving her patrons, and they felt better about being served by her.

Simply because the waitress became real.

Which we all are (real, that is). Whether we are serving, or being served. In any capacity.

We need only remember that this is the case.

 

Bar Lola, Portland (not the scene of the 'incident')

September 2011

 

 

Gratitude Saturday--May Day!

I'm heading out the door early this morning, as I want to get my long run to Cousins Island done while the day is new.  It is May Day, and as such, a time to celebrate all things new and delightful. 

Today I am grateful for:

~an impromptu evening spent with friends (Beth, Debra, Mona & Gustavo) at Local 188 in Portland,

~dinner with the Walshes tonight,

~Walk with the Doc, Portland, beginning this Wednesday (details to follow...)

~a beautiful day to watch the Yarmouth High School boys play baseball at Freeport,

~lacrosse-playing daughters,

~all the volunteers who are helping plan our May 16 "Kick Up Your Healin'" music & art event at the Royal Bean in Yarmouth (again, details to follow...)

~spring blooms!

  

P.S.  Good luck to my son, and all Maine high school juniors, who are taking their SAT's today.  An important rite of passage, to be sure.

 

Ray, Ted & Health Literacy on WLOB (10/6/09)

What if you could not understand the information written on your child's prescription medication bottle?  Or decipher the instructions your doctor gave you regarding an important laboratory test?  Due to low literacy levels, 26% of American adults (1 person out of 4) struggle with these situations. In recognition of this important problem, last week's Three-fer Tuesday health conversation with Ray Richardson & Ted Talbot on WLOB 95.5 FM/WPME TV covered the "Three Ls of Health Literacy."

As the medical advisor to the statewide Raising Readers program, I have a special interest in literacy.  Our program has been making books available to Maine children, ages 0-5, for almost a decade.  We have distributed more than a million books through well child visits at pediatric provider offices.

Here are the "Three Ls of Health Literacy:"

• Leave satisfied with the words of your devoted doctor or designated health helper.  Write down your questions before visiting the office.  Once there, make sure you understand what you've been told.  Repeat back any complicated instructions.
• Lean on an assistant to help you understand what has been said.  If you are unclear about your interactions with your devoted doctor or designated health helper, consider bringing a friend or family member along to your visit.
• Learn how to ask for assistance.  Local libraries and adult education programs offer two good resources.  Or call the Literacy Volunteers of America, Maine Chapter: 1 800 322 5455.  

For further information, visit the following websites:

• Health Literacy Basics
  
• Health Literacy & Health Outcomes

Still on the "L" theme, last week's local foods "bountiful basket," which Ted refers to as "Dr. Lisa's Basket o' Fun," contained:

• onions from White Oak Farm in Warren,
• tomatoes from Belanger & Sons in Lewiston,
• and leeks from Bowdoinham.  (All of the above via the Rosemont Market in Yarmouth.) 
• Also carrots, turnips and Brussels sprouts from our final New Elm Farm (Freeport) farmshare. 

In the interest of keeping this blog post short, I'll wait for Wednesday's blog post to re-visit today's WLOB discussion with Ray & Ted on the "ABCs of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month." 

For more Wednesday fun, remember to attend tomorrow's 7th Annual Yarmouth Community Garden Harvest Dinner.  My friend, Marjorie, tells me that the YCG

had a good year, despite all that rain and gloom in June and July and then losing ALL of our tomatoes to late blight (that was a real bummer). But still we rented 145 plots (we started with only 25 six years ago!), taught children about organic gardening and compost and pests and bees and all kinds of good stuff in the Garden Explorers program, and most important, have distributed close to 2000 pounds of vegetables to seniors and local food pantries.

Hooray for the YCG! Let's get over there tomorrow and show them our appreciation of their efforts.

Local foods, literacy & Dr. Lisa: how's that for a "L-laden" Three-fer Tuesday?