1)This week I realized how much I appreciate the support of the people I work with:
Not that I don't love all of my patients, but there are certainly ones who tax more of the office staff's, um, resources.
And this week I was in the position to see one of those patient's. This patient had taxed about as much as he could tax without people (in every department) getting pretty hot under the collar. So when he was coming in on my schedule, and a certain foot needed to be put down about office policies, I had more back up than I could've hoped for.
It started with a text from one of our front desk people: "Hey, just a heads up, but so and so is on your schedule today." I was glad to know I wouldn't be blindsided by it that afternoon. Then as I walked in, the two unit secretaries let me know that they'd adjusted my schedule to help me deal with what would probably be an extended appointment.
As I stood on the nurses station, a few employees came over and rehearsed with me the best way to handle the situation. A fellow physician saw one of my patient's for me so that I had more time to get my game face on. My nurse offered to come knock on the door at an appointed time to see if I needed backup (I hope you are sensing that this was not a typical office visit...in fact, I don't think I've ever seen a patient who was so widely known by the staff!). Etc., etc., It felt like I was a gladiator being prepped for battle. And so by the time I was sitting across from the patient, I didn't feel stressed or anxious at all. Because it felt so good to know that outside my office door, there were dozens of people pulling for me and hoping it was going all right. That I had on the armor of goodwill and solidarity, and that everything would be just fine.
And it was.
2)That is how we spent our morning.
Both kids had their well-child visits today. Lil' Drummer didn't make a peep while his ears were examined (I enjoy this victory since I know how hard it can be to be the examiner) and Tiny Dancer impressed the doc with her knowledge of fairy tales. He declared Tiny dancer precocious and Lil' Drummer a lightweight. We need to get more meat on that kids' bones. And you know what's funny? Even though my office feels like a second home, I still have some of the same anxieties that everyone else does when I'm on the other side of the coin. I'll have to write more about that sometime.
3)This little darling is pretty fun to take shopping. I had a couple returns to make, and she wanted to carry my bags, and stop at every.single.bench (of which there were many) on the way out, to snap iphone pictures. I'm glad that her mall fascination right now centers around their escalators, and not their product lines. This is something that I know is bound to change in the coming years.
4)That article about dirty shopping carts makes me feel better. I mean, it makes me feel worse about the state of shopping carts, but better about my slightly OCD habits. Because you better believe that whenever I schlep the kids into Target or Trader Joe's with me, I wip out my personal supply of anti-bacterial wet wipes, and scrub the handles down. I try to do so as unobtrusively as possible, always wary that people think I'm some kind of crazy. But then I read this and I think, "I am NOT the crazy one!" So, ponder that next time you are at the grocery store, okay?
5)This dress that she's wearing?
Well, it's actually a tanktop, but the company accidentally sent me a size 6-7. I said to her, "Sweetie, It's too big. It's for a six year old." "No, Mom, it fits perfectly and it's for a three year old." She was devastated that I might exchange it for the proper size. And they're sold out of it now, so it's either, go with it as a tank dress, or abandon it altogether! What would you do?
Happy Weekend!
