My sister and I had a lovely visit this weekend where she shared her recent adventure making her own Chardonnay wine at a vineyard. Granted, it isn’t ready to consume yet, but she did finalize the name for her wine: Kaleidoscope. This was her favorite long word as a child and brought forth new meaning and relevance for her in today’s environment.
The word is derived from the Ancient Greek words kalos, which means beautiful, beauty; eidos a form or shape; and skopeo, which means to look to or examine. It can be used as a noun to reflect the instrument or as a verb to indicate movement in shifting patterns. When you look into a kaleidoscope you see something beautiful, and yet you can easily shake it up and create something new and equally as beautiful. A kaleidoscope helps people relax and focus or reduce stress and bring balance; a kaleidoscope can assist with problem solving and stimulate creativity — similar to a glass of wine in my sister’s opinion.
If you were to create a wine, what would be your label? I thought about this a few times over the weekend and kept coming back to Rejuvenation. With all that is going on in the world, looking for an opportunity to rest from the news and whatever strife or challenges one may be encountering, sharing a nice glass of wine with a friend or colleague brought visions of joy — of rejuvenation.
Regardless of a word that comes to mind for you, I hope you can carve out time to rejuvenate and join us in Denver to re-engage with your preventive medicine colleagues. It would be rejuvenating for me to toast a glass of cheer in person with you at the ACPM annual conference — Preventive Medicine 2022 (PM22) as we congregate together to celebrate the many successes experienced these past few years, to honor our ACPM award winners, and to congratulate Drs. Linda Hill and Lisa Miller for their leadership as Chair and Vice Chair of the Conference Planning Committee.
We have amazing speakers and sessions planned for PM22 as well as an evening of fun to enjoy a baseball game (Rockies vs. Padres) together with the current cohort of residents. Be sure to register to attend and show your support for your profession!
A final note — don't forget to write your Congressional delegation and tell them “not to drop the ball on preventive medicine” as they set their appropriations goals for FY23 — we need full funding to ensure a solid pipeline of skilled physicians for the future.
See you in June,
Donna
Donna Grande, MGA