Never Think Never

Something I never thought I would do is purchase a piece of exercise equipment for my personal home use...until this winter. I could have used this machinery last winter but I was way too overwhelmed with third year rotations that I didn't even think about it. I like to think that I would just get outside and go for walks and hikes and x-country ski but the reality is now that I am not an early riser and so it is enough to just get up in time to do what I have to do: get dressed, get coffee, take Ms Perpetual Motion to preschool or at least help get her dressed, brushed and braided. Despite her name, Ms PM is a slow-mover in the mornings, just like her mama. Lately I have not even been able to help with any of that because I have rise at 4:30 and be on the road by 5 to get to the rotation on time. (And when that is the case it is really annoying when people can't get to sign-out on time, morning or PM. Rag for another post.) And since I don't get home till well after dark, an evening walk is out of the question unless it is a nighttime urban sledding night. And that usually just occurs on pristine snowy nights. So when father-n-law called and told me about the elliptical trainer available at reduced cost at local moderate-sized-box-store and said it would be a holiday gift I went forth and acquired. It is nice to have an opportunity to sweat other than when presenting a case to my attending or senior resident. The key to home exercise equipment is a good stash of music. I'd like to put a call out to Country Mouse and Weasel, my most musical friends, for a get-movin mix if you have time or inclination. And I'll treat you to a couple pints at our local establishment where Sugar Daddy wishes he got to spend more time; and a bowl of organic mush of some sort or another for Newtie.

The Better Part of Valor

I have not been terribly inspired to write much lately. Mighten' be because of the heavy work schedule lately. But I am trying to get back into the groove because writing helps me think and I have a lot of things to think about. I'm in the middle of a super learning rotation now. I'm seeing a heavy volume of really sick people in the hospital. And I am realizing that I am not always very astute at recognizing sickness. I am much better at recognizing health. Fortunately I have been surrounded by many, many healthy people in my life. I've lived in communities where people challenged themselves artistically, musically and academically. I know a lot of people who are very physically active and folks who have traveled to many different countries and enriched their lives with acquaintances from all over the planet. But recently I missed a guy who turned out to be quite sick. I went through the night wondering a little why this guy was admitted only to find out the next morning that he was septic. He just did not look very ill to me. Presentation clinically and his labs could have represented a viral bronchitis. CXR was unremarkable. The guy was joking and smiling. But he was sweating and that should have made more of an impression on me. I've dealt with fever more in kids than with adults and I think fever is often over treated in kids but I'm learning that fever can mean different things in adults. My nature to be non-interventionist probably contributes to my difficulty in recognizing real sickness. Fortunately there were a lot of other people besides me who looked at this guy and their suspicions were higher and riding along the better part of valor.

The Match??

This is very magical to me, it is not just meaningful, not just medicinal.

The Match?

New Hampshire is nothing.

Arts and Crafts and Sleep Deprivation

I don't mind living in a house where there are no carpets. So when water spills from the child's tea set or the geriatric cat pukes or the geriatric dog has an accident in the middle of the night leaving generous sized "hershey's kisses" on the floor for us to find in the morning at 4:30 am when I have to get up to get to the current rotation by 6am, clean-up is easier than it would be with carpet. Everyone is entitled to and proud of their creations.
I don't mind drips of fingerpaint on the floor because I only buy washable, water soluble paint so we have had very few tragedies despite the amount of painting we do around here.
I don't mind little hands covered in Elmer's glue covered in short grain white rice (even though the original idea was that the rice be glued to paper) because ultimately it washes off and probably provides a satisfactory sensory experience.
And then I don't mind that the rice project turns into a "cooking" project and one certain corner of the "kitchen" is scattered with dry rice and little puddles of water.
I actually like the mess. I like that things are being tried and tested. I enjoy a certain amount of chaos and clutter. Milk crates and cardboard boxes have always been a part of our home furnishings. Makeshift pantry shelves in a corner, closet or half-bath fill a purpose. Piles of laundry get a little tiresome but they always seem to shrink eventually like a bug bite.
The rainbow-speckled, multi-colored characters in Ms Perpetual Motion's new coloring book make the mess a perfect gallery in which to display all of our creative endeavours. I just wish I could get a little more sleep so I wasn't so tired during the daily art shows.

Nocturnal Urban Sledding

My family has engaged in a new winter activity this year: nighttime urban sledding. I was out-of-town the first snowstorm/night the sled came out. I had to fly to Philly to take a very secret test with pretend patients and I can't tell you anything about it because it is considered top secret and very "high stakes" in the world of medical education. What I can tell you is that it was very long and exhausting (the whole process of getting there and taking the test), the food was hideous and the hotel I stayed in did not have hot water for my shower. We had to circle Philly an extra time before landing because of high winds which was a bit nerve racking and I was going to be really pissed if I died because of that stupid test. And to top it off I had to miss the first night of urban sledding.
But I got to go tonight! I don't have any pics because our camera does not have working flash. We found alleys, empty lots and snowbanks to sled down about town. It was really fun to just walk around and look for places to "catch a hill". And when we didn't have a good/safe hill to sled down Ms Perpetual Motion plopped herself in the sled and we parents ran while pulling the sled down the sidewalk. She only flipped out of the sled and did a faceplant once.

Sledding

Important to make sure you live in a town with adequate sledding hills in the vicinity.