In just a few days I’ll be leaving the clinic where I’ve practiced pediatrics for the past six years. The last months have been a flurry of last visits with families, paperwork, and tying up loose ends. There have been many, many goodbyes. I’ve been deeply moved by the expressions of gratitude and affection that many families have shared with me. It seems it is always in these times of change …

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I’m not sure I’ve ever been great at being still. As a kid, I joined one activity after another. Not because my parents told me I should. I just liked it. Staying busy. But, I could concentrate. Quiet the mind. I’d sit and read for hours on end or close my eyes and listen to a cassette tape from beginning to end.

Even through busy high school and college years, a …

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As a pediatrician at a busy county clinic with close proximity to pediatric specialists, I care for a significant number of children with special health care needs. Instead of colds and ear infections (though there are those too), my days are often filled thinking about gastrostomy tubes, tracheostomies, and ventriculo-peritoneal shunts. I sign orders for specialty formulas and nebulizer machines. Many of my patients have thick charts and diagnoses like …

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People often ask how old my son is when we are out and about. When he proudly says, “Two!”, the most common response is a smile to him … and a knowing glance to me. This is often accompanied by, “Oooh, the terrible twos!”

I’m here today to stand in the defense of two-year-olds. Sure, they have their share of tantrums and the transition from infant to preschooler is sometimes a …

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