A Downer?

Everyone has a least favorite holiday, just as everyone has a most favorite holiday. For me, hate New Year's. The expectations are always outsized to the reality, and renewing your life in the winter seems an odd time of year. I've always loved the Fall, likely because I was born in September, but also because it brought the beginning of the school year. Perpetual student that I am, late August/September has always been the time of year to reinvent oneself. Not surprising, then, that I will be getting married in October.

Maybe because I hate New Year's so much I am in a contemplative mood. There was an article today in the Health section of The New York Times written by a psychiatrist, Marc E. Agronin, about his time spent with geriatric survivors of the Holocaust. Whilst not Jewish, I grew up in a city and a building full of survivors and I'd like to think they had a positive influence on my early life - the idea of "never forgetting," and rebuilding against all odds. There is a quote from this article that I found really true after psychiatry rotation. It is about the first (of three) lessons Dr. Agronin has learned from his patients:

"Lesson 1 is the most difficult for a doctor. Sometimes the perpetual sadness of many older survivors is not to be healed but shared. Over time, as memories fade and the voices of lost loved ones grow quieter, all that remains is a closely guarded sadness, persisting as a substitute for the losses. Any attempt to ease this emotion may be a threat to painful but beloved remnants of memory. What some survivors seek is not medicine or therapy: it is the attentive presence of a doctor and others to serve as the next generation of witnesses."

Enjoy your holiday, and be safe.