Best Moment Ever

I spent this morning with a pediatrician who attends births when there might be complications- that way we can quickly take care of the baby if the baby needs anything.  Best moment of my pediatric rotation, possibly of all of medical school, happened this morning in one of those births.  It was a birth where the parents had chosen not to know the sex of the baby.  We held up the baby for the mom and dad to see for the first time, and the dad cried- "It's a boy!" and then started crying tears of joy.  He just couldn't control himself, and kept apologizing for crying and blubbering; but he was so geniuly happy that he was lighting up the whole room.  It was one of the sweetest, most genuine emotional displays I have ever seen.

Our strongest emotions tend to be kept to ourselves, whether its passion, anger, or sadness.  The stronger an emotion is, I think the more likely we are to try to keep it to ourselves lest we look vulnerable.  But this dad showed more emotion to us, a room full of strangers, than I've shown anyone. Ever.  His reaction was so geniune, unbridled and unconcerned with 'what others might think';  it was both refreshing and inspiring.  Also, I loved it because I'm rarely around truly happy people.  It's just the nature of being in a hopsital or doctor's office- people aren't happy when they are sick and scared. 

Quite frankly, he made my day.