The year I worked Christmas shifts at the hospital was one of the best holidays ever | Canada Voices

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As the holidays approached last year, my husband and I made a decision: we would both volunteer to spend our Christmas at work.

We were not being martyrs, just practical. As physicians whose colleagues all take turns working the holidays, we figured we may as well cover Christmas at the same time, so that we would both have the holiday off together the next year. Our son was not quite three years old and didn’t seem to yet grasp the big deal about Christmas anyway. Though we were not exactly excited to be spending our Christmas working at the hospital, we did wonder if a quieter holiday might be a refreshing change from our usual hustle of flying out of province to divide our time between both our families, while squeezing in lots of visits with friends, too.

When we arrived at the hospital, we noticed some of the staff were wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers, and there were decorative wreaths and a faux Christmas tree on the medical ward. A long printed strip of an electrocardiogram was wrapped around and around the branches in lieu of tinsel, adding a splash of festive red. Everywhere we looked, there were tins of cookies and treats that staff and families had brought in to share. Seeing these efforts to bring warmth and cheer to the sterile hospital environment – one of the last places anyone would choose to spend their holiday, especially if it was owing to illness and not employment – made me feel such gratitude for the people I get to work alongside everyday. It was heartwarming to see the kindness in these little gestures that brightened the space where we all found ourselves spending that Christmas.

Visiting my patients (most of whom are in their 70s or older) on Christmas morning and seeing them surrounded by their grown children also made me pause and reflect on parenthood. I was halfway through my second pregnancy that year. When patients asked me the same questions I had been asked countless times in the preceding weeks – “Do you know what you’re having?” “Is this your first child?” “How long will you take off work?” – instead of feeling intruded upon, I felt joy at seeing the universal excitement around new life, as well as amazement that even folks who were spending their Christmas sick in a hospital bed, with every reason to withdraw, still chose instead to share in this excitement with me.

Perhaps the most moving part of our working holiday was that multiple friends with young children graciously offered to welcome our son into their homes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day while we worked, sharing in their family traditions and even tucking some presents under the tree for him to open from Santa. I have always wanted to find ways of showing my children that Christmas for me is about community – creating, contributing to and cherishing it – and I cannot think of a time I have ever felt such a sense of belonging and generosity from my community. Being approached with eager offers of child care from loving families in our time of need was truly our greatest gift of all.

After our hospital Christmas shifts, we flew out of province to see both our families and enjoyed a much calmer, quieter visit than we usually have over the holiday season. It was a welcome change from the hustle of rushing around amid the frantic energy that surrounds the holiday, when everyone seems to have a million things to do, to buy, to cook, to bake and to wrap ahead of the big day.

I have always loved our busy Christmases packed with extended family all around the dinner table, and have returned from these year after year with a full heart. Last year we missed that. What we did not miss out on were the meaningful moments with each other, with our child, with our patients, our families, and with close friends in our little community who have become like family. The working Christmas of 2023 was our happiest holiday yet.

Laura Schep lives in Kentville, N.S.