I want to dedicate this entry to my now 6 year old twins- Cameron and Isabella. It is amazing to me that time is going by so quickly and that you two are already 6 years old! It seems like just yesterday we were learning how to give you your first baths, and now you are in Kindergarten learning how to write and count. You are now talking back instead of just screaming….although often there is still some screaming. Your are playing soccer, learning how to skate, tumbling, building legos, and all of these other amazing things that are so enjoyable to watch. Yet, most importantly, you are constantly inspiring me to be a better person.

You are a significant part of the reason why I left a well-paying job as an employed physician to put us in debt and start this practice. I know its often hard when I am working many hours trying to take care of patients or working to grow this business, but I want you to know that you are why. I love when when you both ask questions like “how was your patient?, are they ok?, did you get any new patients today?” It shows me that we have taught you to care! In the crazy world we live in we are often bombarded with ugliness and what people are doing wrong. I want you to have a dad who shows you what is right. I want you to see that doing the right thing is not always easy and that people may act like you’re crazy, but to keep doing it. Do not give in to naysayers and fight for what you know and believe to be right. If you do these things you will never fail. You may have to “regroup” and find other solutions sometimes, but you will never fail.

As one of my boyhood idols Wayne Gretzky once said: “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”

So always take the shot- or at least pass it to someone who has a better scoring chance. And thank you for driving me to be the type of doctor, father, and person that I want to be. As much as I love medicine, I will always love you guys more. I hope you always know that. So Happy Birthday and enjoy the gifts that you will play with for 5 minutes and then never touch again 🙂