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January 2004
Second Wind
Lomita, California
Dear Friends;
Imagine my
delight as I opened birthday presents on Christmas Eve. Here, wrapped in
paper adorned with multicolored frogs, I found a small wooden box, that
had been had painted by my three grandchildren who live in Durango,
Colorado. Christopher(6), Kate(4) and Julia(4), are the children
of my son John and his wife, Gina. The box had pasted stars, moon
crescents and a green frog that sat on the lid. Inside was a note,
carefully printed by the children.
"Always remember life's
Simple treasures, Love,
....the Pettys
Indeed,
the box was full of treasures: A whittled stick a small rock, a plastic ring
with a bird on it, a pin commemorating the annual hot air balloon festival, a
rock climber's clamp picked up on a hike in the Rockies, a quarter, a dime, a
nickel, a penny, and two Pok'eman Cards from Christopher's cherished collection!
When I called to
thank them for the thoughtfulness and asked about how this wonderful gift and
thought developed, John said that he and Gina simply asked the kids to go their
rooms and find a special treasure that thay wanted to send grandpa on his
birthday.
"Gifts of the
Magi"!
The sharing,
generosity and caring represented by this simple gift will be an inspiration to
me forever. This is the stuff that makes life worthwhile. These are
"life's simple pleasures".
May the coming year
and those that follow be full of simple treasures and their accompanying
pleasures. Happy New Year!
I'll be in touch next month.
Your friend,
Thomas Petty, MD
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