I had a really sweet visit with one of my favorite patients today, the 95 year old lady who makes my day on a regular basis. We had finished all the medical stuff and were just chatting. She told me about how she had a journal when she was young and would write down everything that she cooked everyday and how it turned out, and who had been there to eat it. She then gave me two of her favorite cookbooks from way back when that she had used constantly, as a gift for my birthday. They are worn from years and years of use. One is called Great Chinese Cooking and the other is Alfredo Viazzi's Italian Cooking. My patient used to go to Alfredo's restaurant in Manhattan back when she lived in New York. Both books have little splatters of sauce in them and all over the covers, and are very, very worn. I am so excited to cook recipes from these books. What a kind soul, and what a sweet birthday this has already started out to be! I am grateful for this job that allows me to get close enough to patients to know them, and for us to have the chance to take care of each other.