Wrapping It Up

I know the end of my mini vacation is over, when I try to call into my work voice mail. To access this voice mail, I first have to call a 'special' number- there is actually nothing special about this number, I have called it hundreds, if not thousands of times. But of course, I cannot remember it for the life of me. I try calling the operator at work, she says she has no idea. I try calling the Emergency Room, hoping to speak with a colleague who would clue me in. Of course, my esteemed colleague is no where to be seen by the nurse. Of course, nurses don't ever get voice mail so he doesn't know what number I am calling about. I really want to check my voice mail! Sometimes, it can take me a very long time to check voice mail after a long weekend- there are times that box contains 20+ messages, with each caller leaving a message of about 2 minutes, it would take me close to an hour to retrieve them, never mind returning them. I really want to get this done this evening, so my day can be about returning messages instead of scribbling down messages, all the while getting a new message while I am trying to get through them all.

I call a resident, whom I know well, so it isn't like the boss calling someone else at home. Or is it? Anyway, she knows the number! I call it. Gloriously, there are only three messages! Even more gloriously, none of them are really my issues- medications are my issues. Housing issues are not mine.

Meanwhile, I do get this message. Literally, it goes like this.

"Hi Doctor. I am so glad to know you are taking some days off (WHAT?! YOU MEAN YOU THINK I NEEDED TIME OFF?!) and I really want to talk to you (blah, blah, blah, he goes on for a while), so when you get back on Tuesday, when you get your groove back (NO KIDDING!) can you call me?"

This comes from a patient whom I have never met (he had called last Monday at 10:10 AM that he wouldn't make it to our 10 am intake appointment, but then his name wasn't actually listed as my new intake. On the other hand, my new intake never showed anyway, so maybe he was the intake, he just has two names?!) and already, he thinks I need to find my groove.

I have my groove, thank you very much.

I will have more groove when I start exercising seriously.

Aidan, on the other hand, is going to be so RIPPED. With weekly lessons in swimming, ice-skating, soccer, on top of the usual run-around exercise he gets at school... I have high hopes for all three- since all three are excellent all-body workouts. Imagine, endless laps, either on the field, in water, on ice... It is going to be beautiful...