Sporty weekend

The weather was fantastic this weekend and we spent most of it outdoors watching the girls in their various sports activities. The 13 year old had 2 lacrosse games and one soccer game this weekend. It's amazing to see how much she's improved over the past few years. I remember when she first started playing soccer she was more interested in the dandelion on the field or the plane overhead than the ball in play. Now, she's the starting center-mid and so focused and physical. It's been three years since she's been playing lacrosse, and that first year she ran around the field with her stick but was so wary of getting near the ball lest she get whacked with a stick. Now, she's in the middle of the action, stick poised, not afraid. I love the process of it all!

The 8 year old and I happened to watch a track meet recently and she's decided she wants to be a runner when she grows up. Not wanted to quash her dreams, I found a local track club and she had her first day running relays and laps at the Stanford track today, loving the feel of the runner's high. She can't wait until next week and is trying to run around in all the shoes she owns to see which ones will be fastest for next week's run.

What to blog about?

I've kept a journal for years now and can't imagine sharing it with anyone. It's odd to write a blog, which to me still feels like a journal, and know that others can read it. So, I've been thinking about what kind of focus I want my blog to have. One idea that popped into my mind was to write about my thoughts on health care/drugs/alternative medicine/drug companies, etc. since I'm exposed to these topics as a pharmacist and tend to have strong opinions in this area. A friend at work introduced me to a pharmacist's blog that I have been occasionally reading and I find it quite amusing. It's not the approach I would like to take if I wrote a blog with a pharmacist slant but even through the anger, there is a lot of truth in this blog.

I bring up the pharmacist slant because I frequently get questions about meds/health issues from friends and family and at work I get lots of questions. Sometimes, they are not about meds but about lab results, understanding medical terminology, etc. In my wonder of why we pharmacists get so many questions (not about meds) and we always take the time to patiently answer them (well, at least I do) I dug up the following information: pharmacists, for many years have been the most trusted professionals in the U.S. (according to a Gallup poll). Over the past few years, pharmacists have moved down to the second most trusted professionals (after nurses). There's something about us that makes us accessible and our patients recognize that and come to us for information. So, although I know that I don't want to write a blog like www.angrypharmacist.com, I'm not sure what kind of pharmacist-themed blog I want to write, if any.

Resilience

Of all the hats I'm wearing these days, my mothering hat is the most important to me. I'm always trying to be a better person, but knowing how much it impacts my girls, I'm really trying to be a better mother. In so many ways, it was easier when they were younger. Diaper changes and midnight awakenings seem so much easier to handle than purple hair and questionable attire.

I went to a talk by Dr. Ken Ginsberg last night on building resilience in children (and teens) that has given me a lot to think about and the tools I learned have already been helpful in my interactions with my girls. Focusing on the process, rather than the result and building character and coping strategies resonated with me quite a bit last night. Also, he emphasized raising children who are kind and are helpful to those around them as a core goal rather than what college they will go to or what career they will choose (not that those aren't important but once achieved, then what?).

Lots of good reminders and plenty of new things were shared last night. I can't wait to read his books.