July is a month full of celebrations! Of course, the 4th of July is one of the biggest; the day when we celebrate the birth of our Nation. We look forward to getting together with family and friends to share our favorite foods, fireworks and many water activities. We attend parades and picnics. The most wonderful thing about it is that we are FREE to celebrate! Interestingly, the 4th of July also celebrates National Country Music Day, and, in some places, it is “Sidewalk Egg Frying Day!”
This certainly confirms that we LOVE to celebrate; I know that I do! In July, there are thirteen birthdays for me to celebrate! On July 9th , 50 years ago, I started my first day of work in St. Anthony’s Emergency Department! It truly seems impossible.
While thinking of our delight in celebrating, my thoughts began to settle on the many celebrations that I have been afforded because of this wondrous work. In 1988, as a Creighton Model Practitioner Intern, I had my very first client. During the ensuing 35 years, I have had the honor of teaching 1,109 clients! I teach them and I pray for them. Many have become friends, many feel like my own children and now, many of them feel like my Grandchildren! It seems impossible but I am actually instructing the children of some clients! Amazing. These memories and thoughts compelled me to look back at the records and it touched me in a profound way when I saw just how long some of the women/couples have continued with me. My longest, still active couple, started with me in 1990! That is 33 years! They were, of course, very young and I was not!
So, I dug deeper to see how many long-term users we have. A long-term user is a client who continues the program after a year of follow-ups. To my delight, I discovered that there are eighty-two long-term users. They continue to chart after their first year and see me twice a year for follow-ups! I know that eighty-two seems small when compared to over a thousand users; however, a large number of the women who began with me in the late 80’s and the 90’s have experienced menopause and would not still be charting. Many couples come into the program with the hope of getting pregnant and once they do, they do not come back.
All these reflections supported my feelings of great gratitude. Yes, great gratitude for my family, my friends, my clients, my Interns and every one of you!
Every day that God allows me the ability to get into my office and share this magnificent truth is a tremendous blessing and one which I will always celebrate!
Thank you to each and all of you for helping this work to go on! You are prayerfully celebrated each day!
Enjoy your celebrations. Take good care of yourselves and of each other and celebrate every chance that you can!
