Happy Thanksgiving

I am sorry about last week. I sat down to write the blog twice but was pulled in a thousand different directions. Then I realized I can't post a blog during the week of Thanksgiving week that isn’t about Thanksgiving. So I will hold the blog I wrote for later.

Before I forget, you must book the restaurant for your Christmas party. If you haven't done it by now, you are a bit behind the eight ball. I just called the restaurant that we were thinking about. It is going to be a stretch. I could tell they were wondering why people wait until the last minute. I thought I was on top of it by calling a month in advance, but I guess not.

This is going to be my first Christmas party as full-fledged owner. I am looking at the bank account a little differently this time. We have X dollars in the bank. The party is going to cost about Y. Then we have two weeks off paid and that is going to cost Z. So, X – (Y+Z) is a pretty small number, if not a negative number. Oh man. I am grinding my teeth already.

Anyway, Thanksgiving. Man oh man, do we have a lot to be thankful for.

I have to tell you that this job is so stressful sometimes. Okay most of the time. I am usually juggling about 4,000,000 things at once. I dig my own grave sometimes. I am usually five days behind in writing up my charts. But, sometimes this is good because when I do write them up, I remember the good stuff that I did. And a lot of the times I will pick up the phone and call the patients to see how they are doing. I love doing this.

I take a lot of photos of teeth during the day. I can't tell you when the last time I plugged my camera into my computer and transferred them. I think I have about 400 that still haven't been uploaded. I sometimes will send a case off to the lab and tell them I will write up the case and fax it to them. I forget to do that. I am going crazy most of the time, but it is a good crazy.

I leave my office as soon as I am done with the last patient and go straight to the ball field (I change in the car) and don't get home until 9 p.m. Then I go for a run. And I can't understand why I can't make it through a whole TV show at night before falling asleep.

I am a deacon at my church. One of the things I do for our diaconate is manage the Deacons fund with a few other guys. Members give to this fund so that when another member is in financial trouble, they can come to the DF and make a request. This fund is set up to help the widow or the single parent that might be living week-to-week when something like a car breaking down is not in the cards. A kid getting sick can throw a big wrench in someone’s finances. Loss of job, loss of a spouse: you name it, we have dealt with it. Managing this fund is a great dose of perspective that I need almost on a weekly basis. I see the financial pain people are in. I see the people that are financially and emotionally bankrupt and can't get out of it. They need financial counseling and emotional counseling, and they can't afford either. This fund is a godsend to the people that need it. But I can tell you that managing it is stressful.

I am so thankful for my wife (we just celebrated our 17th anniversary last week) and kids, the four apples of my eye. I love taking them to sports. I love throwing the ball with them and taking them to sporting events. I love watching them play and bringing them to church. I love the people they are becoming. I love the servants’ hearts that they have. My daughter is volunteering at an inner city after school program. I am so proud of her.

I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I am so thankful for all of it. I am thankful for a crazy, stressful job. I am thankful for the staff/friends I get to work with. I am thankful for living in the USA, where we are free to do a lot of things thanks to the pilgrims and the founding fathers and all the guys and gals (past and present) in the military protecting us. I am thankful for my community and my patients (especially the ones that don't hurt after I put in an all porcelain crown).

What a great job we have. Yeah, it can make you blow a gasket sometimes, but I have always told you about perspective. We work in air conditioning. Most of us work 4 days a week. We make a good living. We get to laugh when we work. Good stuff.

I am thankful for this blog (my biweekly therapy session) and you guys that read it. It is something in my life that I hold very sacred. I want to think it does some good and brings us all a bit closer together.

I hope you feel like you have a lot to be thankful for. The Bible talks about being content "in all circumstances… whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." This means that Paul (the guy writing this part) was wealthy and had to learn to be content when he was wealthy. Sometimes this is pretty hard. And for those of us that might be struggling with things (marriage, finances, kids, sickness), the Bible talks about this, too. James 1:2 says, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy."

Anyway, this sermon is over. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I hope you had lots of great food, lots of great family time, and lots of football (God, please let the Gators win).

Thanks,

john