This year's theme is Planet vs. Plastics. Please remember to reduce your usage of plastics. Recycle or reuse your plastic bags, cartons, cups, utensils, etc. Any amount of reduce waste will help. In our office, we collect soda cans and donate them to the next person we see collecting them from the trash. We can do this because once our garbage bag is filled, we put it in my trunk. We also give it to our patients when they come in. Just like the magazines we collect for our senior citizens to read in their residential home.
Books that are given to us are shared in the neighborhood little "library". I love that I can just put books there for others to read. Talking about books, we love to share 2 of our favorite books with our newborn "future patients", The Brown Bear book and The Tooth book by Dr. Seuss. Isn't the second one obvious? If you ask, I can probably recite the tooth book for you. I also give my barely worn or new clothes from my kids to my young patients. In my culture, it is believed that worn clothes have spirit in them. When a child is a good one, whoever wears their clothes will also be a good child. That is why I warn all my young patients and their parents about the clothes they are about to wear. There is some truth to the spirit in materials. Ask me about the time I tried to buy a floor mirror at a consignment store...scary. Enjoy your Earth Day, earthlings. Save the planet for our kids and grandkids. Keep the air clean for ourselves and our other inhabitants. Life is a cycle, from plants to humans. Let's keep this cycle going for as long as possible for longevity sake. March is a month full of activities. I went to North Carolina to attend a dental conference. I learned more about implant failures, diseases and different methods to bone augmentation. Who does not like to learn more about bone augmentation? Charlotte was exciting. There's a rail trail (only if you pay attention), NASCAR museum, multiple stadiums, wide open cemetery, houses turned into restaurants, etc. It's a financial hub for the country and city is growing. This once southern town is very much metro. Surprisingly, it has a diverse food palate with an Optimist Hall to showcase it.
March was also a month of birthday celebrations for my kids, nieces and nephews. The office also welcomed new future patients so congratulations to our dental family members. I love when new parents complain about fatigue but savors it at the same time. Being a parent is one of my favorite roles in life. Time goes by quickly and the kids will move out. Make sure to nourish those relationships to produce thriving adults with compassion and grit. You need to have grit in life. March also puts me in the middle of a Hygiene Board conversation. It's frustrating when people who give educational courses don't remember or even know the rules and regulations written in the Dental Practice Act. When they advise others, they create a group of ill-informants, who then spread those same falsehoods. So no one really knows the facts. Sitting in to emphasize the facts and asking those same people to read one section of the handbook was futile. I had to highlight it for them. It's like feeding children to eat. Reading and getting the facts straight before you argue with people on the board will save you from being in the glare of professional embarrassment and finger wagging. Not to mention, a fine. So the end of March is spring break in our area. May all your little ones be happy when they rest their thinking cap on a hook somewhere. Please remember to be safe as you travel with your friends and families. Our office will reopen on Monday, 4/8. Enjoy your moment of rest and relaxation. You deserved it. You feel me? This year there are 29 days to celebrate love. But only one day to do so nationally. I hope everyone finds their love pot filled, or at least half-full. I'm not one to define love for you but I will be the one to celebrate any kind of love with you. It has different meaning for everyone. I've only known unconditional love when I held my daughter for the first time many years ago. She's still my first true love. She can hurt me. I'd still want to take care of her. I question my ability to do the same for a significant other.
Many hearts will be filled with happiness this month. Some will be broken. It's a dichotomy: some thrives on it while others sink. It's complicated only because it comes in many variations and forms. Regardless of shape, it's still a passionate feeling of something. So for this month and many months thereafter, I wish you carry this little piece of passion with you. Let it lifts you. Be elated. But I also wish you patience if you are waiting for it to come. Valentine cookies from the person who knows how to get to my heart quickly. My pot is filled. Welcome 2024. I think a lot of people are with me on the excitement of this new year. It can't be said enough how hectic 2023 was. For the world to see terrorism over and over again, wars after wars, craziness has become part of our normal. The visuals only sting during a lapse of consciousness. Those with the most weapons and money get to dictate what is right and just. Root cause of war is discussed in hindsight. But the immediate cause of war justifies displacing 2M+ people and destroying one of the most populated cities in the world. I'm so lost in these extremes. Maybe it's today's view of cancel culture. Kids can't read books that are considered bad, even if judged by only one person. We are so divided. Society is rough. Young people recording fights for more "likes" on social platforms to gain sponsorship. Adults making outrageous claims to stay relevant. Patients tell doctors how to treat them from internet med school. Common sense is consistently left out of conversations. It used to be let them question your intelligence with your silence rather than confirming their theory with your boisterousness. After a tumultuous year, here's to a calmer 2024. May peace and health stay with you. May you have the strength to be you, your ultimate true self. I hope you find joy in the little things that surround you daily to perk up your days. Aging takes us down inevitably so you might as well enjoy the journey now. Me at the end of 2023...wiped out. December was an extremely busy month as we try to accommodate all the last minute appointment requests.
This year we have had our fair shares of many unfortunates. We also have had our fair shares of unbelievable good fortunes. I think it's just a part of life: the good and the bad, the lesser and the blessed. Life gives us unexpected circumstances. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. But if we just remember that we learn more from hardships, then maybe we wouldn't be so hard on ourselves for our failures. Our team has gone through some dizzying situations. We have accepted that we might have to deal with it for another month. There are conditions that we cannot control, as there are people we cannot influence no matter how hard we try. Some people are just shameless. They lie and cheat with no hesitation. Even as we cruise under a dark cloud, we also receive so many gratitudes. We had patients and colleagues sending their appreciation for our work and assistance. For the first time in my career, a patient gave me a tip because he has found his dental home after more than 10 years of absenteeism. Needless to say, Bob and I went for Korean BBQ lunch that day. It was fun. We apologized to our afternoon patients for smelling like BBQ smoke. Hardship does bring people together. We are stronger today as a team. We learned to keep moving and keep laughing. Everyday is a new start. We are thankful for the continual support of our wonderful dental families. We succeed because we have great patients. We look forward to seeing you all in 2024 and meeting new people along the way. Have a great time with your families this Thanksgiving. Lunch at the Korean BBQ restaurant courtesy of our patient's generosity. Team MacGyver- we had a long case and had to use a lid to keep moving without blinding ourselves. It's team work that makes the dream work. As difficult as it was, we finished the case cracking ourselves up because we were "innovative."
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February 2024
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