Christmas traditions

Being a young family we want to start good Christmas traditions. Here are some ideas half-implemented or just considered: 1. Listen to Christmas Carol by Dickens (and read by Jim Dale) 2. Give to the organizations and people you have thought about giving to all year 3. Put Elf on the Shelf all around the house without the accompanying bad story 4. Contemplate the holidays with advent readings 5. Keep the holidays rich without letting them become hectic 6. Eat delicious goodies especially hello dollies 7. Give these goodies to neighbors 8. Watch Elf, Grinch, Charlie Brown, and Family Man 9. Go to Christmas Eve service 10. In Memphis- Starry Nights at Shelby Farms and Zoo Lights 11. See family and try to make the holidays better for everyone else 12. Drink eggnog 13. Reading a book about the history of Christmas hymns 14. Invite over non-family without holiday plans 15. Watch college football 16. Give homemade and thoughtful gifts to family (Meg does this very well!) 17. Give homemade and thoughtful gifts to people who aren't expecting anything 18. Make a craft with the family (if you are a Dalgo make it a competition) 19. Make a birthday cake for Jesus 20. Many more, and hopefully more creative and generous, to come

I forget

Writing solidifies thoughts. I have done a lot of reading in my life without much writing and I think that is selfish. There are a lot of interesting things and people that I see, hear, and experience and to let them vanish into the emptiness that is my memory makes it feel like a waste. Here's a good example. A patient of mine today who has COPD told me that his primary care doctor of at least two years has never once laid a stethoscope on his chest to auscultate his heart or lungs. He also said, after a simple 15 minute discussion, that I was the first doctor to look at him during a medical interview. (His doctor stares at the computer the whole time.) Physicians do not treat the human body they treat the person who is body and soul. I am afraid that this physician is becoming the rule and not the exception in my field. It takes knowledge to know how to treat a number on a computer screen but it takes wisdom to treat a person. I hope remember this now.