12.12.2009

Why I love my Dr.Sister...An Honest Christmas Letter

Dear Friends, Family, Friends who are like Family, Family who are like Friends, and Family who are neither like Friends nor Family,

Seasons Greetings, from South Carolina! I guess everyone must be reminded of me and Jeff here in South Carolina if you listen to the news. The good news that I bring is that Governor Mark Sanford is not going to be impeached for his infidelity. Whew, what a close one! I know that we were all sweating that one out. In addition, Miss Teen South Carolina has decided to teach geography in our school system….ok, I made up the last part. Given our state’s low national ranking in education, she might as well.

Seriously, we have a lot of good stuff here (although, I do immediately point out to others that I am from Texas when asked). We are definitely ranking near the top in obese states; hence, I feel that I have some job security here. I would personally blame the obesity on the barbecue because the barbecue is really amazing. Jeff and I have searched for brisket everywhere; however, we are growing fond of tomato and mustard-based pulled pork. If anyone ever wants to come visit, just let us know (disclaimer: this is not an invitation to the family who are not like friends nor family, just all others).

My job is going well. I enjoy teaching the medical students, residents, and fellows…most days. The other days, I don’t want to get out of bed (honest part of the Christmas letter…an oxymoron?). While I dislike working in clinic, I do love the intensive care unit and have been spending the majority of my time there. I am also working as the associate fellowship director and have found that it is much being a parent or a camp counselor. Most of you know that I don’t want to be a parent nor a camp counselor….big headaches. I have learned that holding hands, eating smores, and singing kumbaya does fix most things.

My boss who recruited me from Texas is going back to Texas to work at Scott and White. He invited me to follow him back; however, I would rather stay where I am. I am fortunate to have great partners as they are real caring people and I know that I couldn’t find a better group to work with. We all know that doctors, in general, are jerks. My partners and I cover for each other when life stuff comes up…and as you all know, it always comes up.

Jeff’s job is challenging and thankless. He works long hours to try to find solutions to the budget cuts at the University. If anyone can do it, he can. Jeff is one of the most organized people I know. I’m not just saying that because he is my husband and my personal CPA. He is very organized and much smarter than I will ever be. (note: 17 year anniversary is coming up and I am hoping for a good gift when he reads this…in addition to the Snuggie that he got me). I do highly recommend the Snuggie as it is the only thing to keep me warm here up north. For those of you who do not know what a Snuggie is, google it. It is basically a blanket with arms….a.k.a. heaven.


Keep going……more Christmas letter lies await you on next page……
Jeff wants everyone to know that he says hello and wants to advertise that he ran his first marathon and came in second place with a time of 3 hours and 10 minutes. He has also been enjoying hang-gliding lessons and sculpting human hands out of clay. Ok, these Christmas letters are full of crap, so I thought I would throw that in to see who is paying attention. He does watch a lot of television that includes hang-gliding, sculpting human hands, and running.

Many of you know that Jeff’s mother has moved to South Carolina to be closer to her grandchildren…I mean, granddogs. We are happy to have some family here. She is adjusting to being out of Texas. We all spent Thanksgiving here together with Jeff’s cousin and her husband. It was nice. I did the cooking, which I love and even decorated a cake (trying hard to be Judy but not succeeding).

My favorite hobby is swimming. I swim a mile 3-4 times weekly and when off, I swim every day. When I travel anywhere, I have to have an indoor pool to do my laps. Swimming is the most relaxing thing ever and it works well as an antidepressant….not that I need one because as you can tell my life is perfect.

I guess I should wrap this up. I hate Christmas letters because they are never honest and usually make the one reading feel inadequate. I hope I didn’t do any of that. As a good friend of my family (Mrs.Franklin) told me when I graduated from medical school, “Linda, I will just always picture you sitting in Farrell’s with chili dog dripping down your face”. It was at that moment that I realized I will never impress any of you! Thanks to Mrs. Franklin for the reality check. I love her and most of y’all.

Life is hard, work is hard, marriage is very challenging, kids are too challenging, and midlife crises are upon us.

Take care, everyone!




Sincerely,




Dr. Sister & Jeff
Penny and Woton (not Wonton, sounds like Volton)

6 comments:

  1. Nice to see that your sick sense of humor is genetic! :)

    Love ya!

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  2. B- Totally. Even the dogs are sarcastic!

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  3. I thought about writing a Christmas newsletter once but you've read my blog. Enough said.

    Dear Family,

    Stayed up too late again last night. Have a great New Year!

    The Cross Fam

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  4. hehehehehe... I always did hate Christmas letters--all brag, no reality.

    This year tho my mom's aunt wrote the neatest letter--so cool that I'm tempted to post it. It's great what an 80 year old woman will send out after so many years of the usual brand of Christmas letter.

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  5. I'm so far behind, didn't even know you guys had listed the house. Hope everything works out out very soon!

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Thanks so much for popping in. I appreciate all of your lovely comments...Tricia