Last Week

It's Sunday Morning. My typical Sunday morning routine is to come to the office early, before church and when the family is asleep, and finish off any remaining work so I can start Monday with nothing on my plate (till it fills up again, and it ALWAYS fills up again).

So today is no different.  Except it is, because this may be the last Sunday morning I do this.

In the winter, the view out my window here is dark.  I'll maybe catch a sunrise before I'm done, but often not. In the summer, though, it's bright, and I can watch the plaza light up as the day gets brighter. With the parking lot empty, I'll get deer walking past my window, sometimes a pair of ducks that likes to visit the fountain will go by, and once even a heron strutted across the parking lot in front of me. I don't necessarily like the work, but I DO like the peaceful setting of the office on a weekend morning - I'm going to miss that. 

The office threw me a little going-away party on Friday.  Thanks to Dr. Hyder and Jessica (front office worker) and others for putting that together. Thanks for the nice send-off for those who were able to come, but rest assured I didn't expect most patients to be able to show up.  It would have been chaotic if they'd tried. There were some neat cards, some nice gifts (mostly of the chocolate variety), a lot of conversations and memories, a LOT of hugs, and some tears. 

For the longest time my leaving seemed "out there".  Yeah, it was going to happen, but it was a long way off.  Now I've reached the last week of my time at West Hills; I have 3 office days left. I'm going to have to spread out the emotions of all this, the thanks to the patients and staff, the admiration of my partners and colleagues over many blog posts, of course.  There's just no way to put all that down in one sitting. But I had a little time this morning, so I thought I'd write a bit, since it's the start of my last week here. 

I'm grateful for the patients and families who've trusted me and this office for their health over the years. I think the best part of being a family doctor, is knowing so many people, being a small part of so many amazing families and their lives, watching kids grow (and grow and grow) over the years, and moving with families and individuals through the good times and bad times in their lives. 

This Friday is the local High School graduation.  As the school board chairman, I get to shake every graduate's hand as they walk across the stage to receive their diploma. There will be several graduates among that group that I was there for their birth, and have cared for them their whole lives up until this point. That is such a privilege, and it's part of the joy of doing what I do. 

So three more days in the office, and then off to new adventures.  For those who are interested, I DO intend to be more active on this site, and update with words and photos and videos all the stuff that happens next.  I'll have a lot more to say about the time and people of West Hills, so this is not the end of that. But it IS the end of my routine at this place, the job I've been doing for almost 21 years here.  I'll miss it a lot, and I'll miss even more the people and relationships I've built over that time.