As a new y ear approaches, I like to end the year with intention by giving thanks and counting my many blessings from 2019. As always, the richest blessings involve people, and this year brought me new friends as well as deepening of special friendships. I am so grateful.
Top 10 Blessings from 2019
- Our oldest son graduated from Duke University. It took my breath away to recognize my husband and I were able to help make his dreams come true and reward his discipline and hard work. I was surprised by pure JOY at his graduation.
- I have remained healthy; we must never take this for granted!
- The Wii Fit helped me get back on an exercise routine (and it’s been SO fun to let my son coach me through it!). Sometimes less is more, and simple and fun is so much better than complex and boring.
- I have felt close to God and my faith has continued to deepen and grow.
- We had family visit during the Christmas season, including our nephew (a sweet toddler). This meant LEGOs, train sets, and toys all over the house again. And, as always, our children filled our home with singing, laughter, and joy!
- I was able to travel throughout the year as I continue to present on wellness, burnout prevention, leadership, advocacy, and recapturing joy in medicine and in life. A sweet bonus was getting to spend time with special friends in Minnesota when I presented the closing keynote at a physician wellness conference earlier this month.
- I have been able to nurture special relationships as I continue to embark on coaching journeys with physicians. Their trust is a tremendous gift that I value highly and warms my heart. I also continue to enjoy my work with medical students, residents, physicians, and other medical and health professionals as senior writer and editor for FACTS, the Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science behind fertility awareness based methods (FABMs).
- Opportunities keep coming to design and lead retreats based on my simple, little book (The 3 Y’s of Faith – Yes, Yield, and Yearn). My next retreat is scheduled for March 7, 2020. I will lead us in short reflections based on the book, and we will have time set aside for quiet prayer, meditation, and journaling. Want to join us? Contact me for details. And stay tuned for a retreat for physicians I will lead in 2020!
- Continued advocacy in my community and at the state level in particular this year. Met with legislators in district and at the Capitol to build relationships, educate, and continue to learn. Added bonus to get to do this with so many physicians I admire and respect.
- My fourth book, Recapturing Joy in Medicine, made Dr. Kenny Lin’s Top 10 list of health and health care books for 2019! A tremendous honor to end the year with hope that the book will continue to make a difference for those who sacrifice so much to care for others. Thank you, Dr. Lin, for helping spread the word about the book!
This is my top 10 list of blessings and, of course, it is a very shortened list (for instance, I didn’t mention the blessing of our new pup — she’s a sweetheart!). We are surrounded by blessings each day. The more we look for them, the more we find. And as we grow more grateful through this process, life has more meaning and we experience greater joy.
So … what is your list? Write it now if you don’t have one yet; it may help you end 2019 with a grateful heart. I’d love to read it if you’d like to send it to me (just use the Contact Me tab).
As we embark on a new year, may we leave the past behind and embrace the new, living each day fully by prioritizing relationships and what matters most.
Happy New Year!
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