Goodbye February

When I was a child, saying goodbye to February was always a happy occasion.  Yep, it's my birthday today.  No, I wasn't a Leap Year kiddo who had to have a fake bday today.  I'm the real February 28th deal.  I missed the first 3 days of work this week because of illness so today was my first day back.  My BFF, Donna, always does something nice for me on my bday and today was no exception.  How can you not smile when you get a beautiful and super delicious cake?

Not only did she bring a smile to my face, she made the whole surgery department happy!  OR people love to eat.  Thanks so much Donna!  (I also love the beautiful bowls you gave me!)  Some other goodies I received:

Flowers from my Sweetie!  Plus a gift card to my hair salon...a win win! Thanks Babe!  All the happy wishes, cards, and other gifts from my kids...movie from Jordan, gift card from Jackie and then my son Phil gave me a fun and interesting gift:

This box was full of this:

Candy that was popular in 1953...and many of it still is!  I told his girls to give some a try and they enjoyed sampling candy from my childhood.

This little booklet was interesting to read and see how prices, salaries and what was popular back when I was born has changed over the years.  A fun and creative gift! A phone call from Craig out west with the news that they are coming to visit this summer made me smile even brighter.  Yes, I'm blessed with a loving family, and good friends.  Mom called today too and I'm happy I still have her with us and can share this day with her.  She did all work to get me here after all!  My older brother, Phil,  sent me a sweet message reminding me that now I'm the 3rd of us to get to retirement age...66. That's something that my Dad didn't get and Jack's folks both passed at 66.  So he said we need to do what they didn't get to do...retire and enjoy our life.  I'm making my plans and hopefully will do just that at the end of this year.  It's hard to think about leaving something I've done since I was 18.  Working now is different because of the big hospital that bought us out. Corporate medicine has changed the face of our hospital in terms of how we work.  We have to work with less but do more.  What hasn't changed however is who we work for...our patients.  What hasn't changed is why we do what we do each day.  Today was a perfect example of the Ying and Yang of surgery life.  First case this morning a baby was born by c-section.  When a baby is born the family presses a button and a lullaby is heard throughout the hospital. I thought, "how fun to have a baby born on my birthday!"  A lucky family with a healthy baby.   A few hours later I stood by another patient who was having a miscarriage and facing the loss of her baby.  We held her hand, wiped her tears, wrapped the tiny little boy in a towel so she could hold him and say good-bye.  We took extra time with that case.  Made arrangements so Dad could see his little boy too and say his goodbyes.  Not everyone can experience the first breath of a new life or the last one.  Those experiences and many, many others I've had over the years are what keeps me doing my job for now.  The pressures of a fast pace, changing technology, and big corporate regulations that speak more of money than compassion are what's motivating me to know when to go.  But today isn't that day.  I'll put the emotions and work stress by for now and say thanks to all my family and friends for helping me celebrate and slide into another year.  Dad, and Mom and Dad Starkey...I'm dedicating the rest of this year to you guys... let's make it a great one!