All in Doctorly Musings
On Fridays on my way to work, I see the same man walking toward the cemetery with a huge bunch of flowers. I only see him if I go to work after dropping off the girls, but like clockwork, he is there with his fisherman's vest on, and that bright bundle of flowers. Every time I see him, I can't help but smile. But it's a bittersweet smile.
There are many things I could admire about Lola, especially today on what would have been her 96th birthday. I could admire the fact that she had a PhD, at a time when attaining a higher education for a female could not have been easy. I could admire the way she traveled the world with my Lolo, and then continued to do so years after he passed away. She lived for 17 years after him, and I can only imagine her grief. Even now, for me, she has been gone for 16 years and I miss her every single day.
What I choose to remember most and admire the most about my Lola is her generous spirit.
True fact: minus one week of not-being-broken-up (maybe), Mr. Bookworm and I have been together since we were dating. And while I have my faults, I like to think that Mr. Bookworm has helped me become a better person.
So don't judge (too much) when I tell you the story of how ice cream saved my marriage. Or rather, how ice cream saved my wedding to Mr. Bookworm.
I've been reading a lot on social media and online about what happens when we defund Planned Parenthood, and what the repercussions of the new healthcare act will have on underserved populations. I won't pretend to be a journalist and I won't pretend that I understand all the minutiae of what is going on. But let me tell you what defunding Planned Parenthood means to me as a pediatrician.
In my lifetime, I've had to tell two separate twelve-year-old girls that they were pregnant. Two. One when I was a resident one when I was an attending.
For both, I don't know the outcome.
Dr. Bookworm discusses why it's okay to show affection to your kids. Yes, even on social media.
Dr. Bookworm discusses the learning curve of reading and Little Lion's experience.
Dr. Bookworm discusses the legacy that a physician leaves behind in the wake of her unexpected death.
What happens when hospitals are demolished? Where do the stories of the ones who have lived and died there go?
Dr. Bookworm muses on 'Doctor Burnout' and what the gift of ME time can do to lessen a physician's load.
Dr. Bookworm talks about visiting her daughter at the cemetery and certain trends that she's noticed.
"My mommy guilt comes in the form of cemetery visits. "
Dr. Bookworm discusses National Poetry Month and some of her favorite poems. She also shares a few (unedited) poems.
On Doctors' Day, Dr. Bookworm shares what draws her to both medicine and writing together.
Dr. Bookworm discusses the death of children's book writer Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and also Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air.
Dr. Bookworm reviews a classic, The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, in honor of Women in History Month.
Dr. Bookworm shares a Writers' Workshop piece written and illustrated by Little Lion that discusses her big (little) sister. Posted with her permission.
Dr Bookworm discusses Proposition 187 and why doctors (and teachers) should NOT have mandatory reporting of undocumented immigrants.
Dr. Bookworm talks about what National Women Physician's Day means to her.
Dr. Bookworm talks about her experience with sexual harassment as a medical student.
Dr. Bookworm muses about her imaginative daughter.
