It’s been a year since I lost my father. I recall his last day with clarity. I arrived at the hospice early, shortly after my mother. Dad was lucid, in good spirits, happy to see me. We discussed the middle of the night solo foray to the bathroom that had left his oxygen tubing detached from him after catching on …
Cashing Out The Memory Dividend
It arrived when I was most expecting it but least prepared to handle it: the parental obsolescence of adolescence. It’s inaccurate to say the kids don’t need me, because they do. They simply don’t have time for me outside of those very specific moments when they need only me. I’ve become a hex wrench – critically useful for a very …
Learning Magic From A Wizard
He stood out to me before we became friends. His all white hair and a matching goatee contrasted well with his dark complexion – you could spot him easily in a crowded room. He was quick to laugh, knew everyone, and introduced himself to newcomers. He was the ultimate volunteer dad when our oldest was in elementary school, leading songs …
My Proudest Moment in Medicine
I was having a conversation with dear friends over game night last week, and one asked if I would advise my kids to pursue careers in medicine. I ended up coming up with a laundry list of all the reasons that practicing medicine is difficult right now, but I acknowledged that although it has diminished with the weirdly adversarial position …