Wednesday, July 16, 2008

"THE ONE THAT DIDN'T GET AWAY!"

Many of my patients know that I am an avid fisherman. My son is 3 and this was his first fishing trip. After catching several small fish my son started to get a little bored. As any parent can attest to, keeping a 3 year olds attention is hard to do, especially for 2 hours. After an hour of fishing my son started repeatedly asking me if his bobber was going under. I would patiently tell him, " You have to pay attention." Well, maybe not so patiently. That's when it happened! His bobber went under and he started to reel in his line. You could see it in his eyes that this time was different from all the little fish. As his pole was bent over I kept telling him to reel it in. He would reply, "I CAN'T!" After a few minutes we finally landed the fish. A whopping 3.10lbs bass!

At that moment I reflected back on my life and the times my dad would take me fishing. In that instant a certain part of my life came full circle. Of all of my great moments in life this had to rank near the top of the list. It's hard to remember ever feeling so proud. It was more about the moment than the fish.

What does this have to do with Dentistry. Probably nothing or maybe everything. I love Dentistry. Dentistry has allowed me to help others, and provide a valuable service. It has allowed me to provide for my family and achieve several personal goals. But, very little can compare to that "MOMENT" I shared with my son on that Saturday morning! Not even Dentistry.

Dr. Michael Chandler (Proud Dad)
www.edmondsmiles.com