Winchester Hospital, Winchester, MA USA

Ordered from the in-room dining menu at Winchester Hospital about 30 minutes outside of Boston, after the birth of my second son.

9 months of patiently waiting. They were filled with excitement, anxiety, numerous nights of ensuring there were no monsters under our 2 year old’s bed, navigating – and getting – sick from our 2 year old who loved bringing germs home from daycare, and of course, constantly needing to concern ourselves with covid.

Needless to say, it was a long road to get here, but looking back, we had been more than lucky; the sailing overall was smooth, and here we were, at Winchester Hospital, literally all going according to plan.

Of course, besides me fainting in the delivery room from looking “over the curtain” during the c section… that, my friends, was not planned!

Feeling abundantly lucky and fortunate to be relaxing in a large room at Winchester Hospital, our newborn son beaming with health and happiness, relaxation, joy and tiredness enveloped our emotions. We would be here for 4 days as my wife recovered and we got our act together, prepping for the journey home and life as a foursome.

This was a magical moment, in between being a family of 3 and a family of 4, that my wife and I took in with great pleasure, recounting moments past and excited for moments future. With Christmas in 10 days, even though we didn’t really celebrate the holiday, we looked forward to a relaxation season at home.

Hospital meals are free for the patient. Three meals per day. But of course, they allow you to select ample food, enough to feed several people, so we were not going hungry. It was great to see Winchester Hospital switch up the selections every day, clearly catering to patients who needed to be at the hospital for long periods of time.

The excitement that washed over me in an awesome wave when I saw the classic club sandwich on our day three dinner menu was more than I could stomach in the moment. My wife and I laughed at the appropriateness of the offering, and shared our eagerness to bite in as we waited patiently for its arrival… a patience far different than the 9 months we endured awaiting our newborn son. In fact, contrasting these two brought a whole new meaning to the word “patience” and I realized I would need to find a more appropriate adjective in future moments to describe my eager anticipation awaiting club sandwiches post ordering.

But alas, I had more important things on my mind today!

Traditionally triple decker, Winchester Hospital clearly wanted to ensure their hospital room diners got a heaping yet healthy feast for their club sandwich offering. Some of the least salty bacon and sliced turkey one could order, these ingredients weren’t going to raise anyone’s blood pressure. They provided joy without the need for saline solutions to trigger sensations on your tastebuds. The tomato was super moist, and it fell in nicely with the soft lettuce leaves. The lightly toasted white bread sandwiched the layers together nicely… and while I would rate the club sandwich as totally average and one I probably wouldn’t order again, we enjoyed it, and felt it was on par with the other meals we enjoyed at the hospital-bedside.

I should note, the my wife and I loved the pasta salad side dish – a healthy alternative to other carbs they could offer.

48 more hours at Winchester hospital. I was eager to get home, but at the same time in no rush. Moments like these are meant to be cherished, and I did my best to log every minute of it in my memory.

Location