Thought for the day - May 24th

I was in the doctor's office the other day to get a physical. I think about doctors differently now that I have two sons that are going to be doctors with a possible third one in the form of Addie.

As the doctor came in and sat down and started asking me questions I had a epiphony pertaining to docs. He was on the computer and looked up my file from when I was in a year ago (I hadn't seen him since) He was confiming a bunch of stuff like the meds I'm on (Norvasc and TriCor), my latest blood test, did I have a colonoscopy and the like. It just struck me that this man doesn't know me from Adam (no pun intended Addie) I'm just a body to him. No relationship with me as a person. It was obvious that he hadn't even looked at my file before he came in.

I have nothing against this Doc nor do I think he was in anyway a bad doctor. When I only see him once a year, I can't expect him to know me from the hundreds of others he is seeing.

It is just the thought occurred to me that I want a relationship with my doctor that is beyond just a body he is seeing. It just gives me a funny feeling that he really doesn't know me, has little interest in me as a person and is just treating me as a kind a generic patient.

In a large practice it can be no other way, I suppose, but it just hit me that I hope Mark and Jeff and Addie really have the opportunity in their medical lives to get to know their patients and really be a part of improving their lives in a personal and professional way.

I also suggest that when you see a patient after the first time, that before you go into the patient you review the records briefly, try jogging your memory as to why and when you saw him the last time so that when you open that door you are approaching him or her like you are personally interested and informed about their issues. It makes the patient feel more than just a body. Don't know how you do that, but I sure think it would help. My doctor takes a picture the first time you see him so he can kind of remember what you look like and that may jog his memory. Seems like notes in the file to help you the next time would be a good idea as well as names the patient goes my. You should take a few moments to review that before you open that door. I'm sure that in the rush sometimes that happens and other times maybe not. The first thing he said to me was "Hi Michael." I knew right away he didn't have a clue about anything we had talked about before and didn't remember me at all. How hard would it be to make a note in the file to say this patient goes by "Mickey." A little thing and perhaps a bit artificial but it sure gives the patient the impression you know who he is.

Dad

Luggage Anyone?

While your mother was in Seattle, I saw a chance to jump on a sale that Kohls was having for luggage. I have been wanting to get some new luggage for sometime and this was 50% off and another 15% if we bought it by Sunday. So I jumped all over that and got us a nice new set as well as an ugle pink suitcase for Meggie.

We therefore don't need our present luggage anymore. Before we pitch it, I wanted to know if anyone of you need some suitcases. We have one large one and two medium ones. It works fine, just missing the little pull things on the zippers. Nothing wrong with them at all and the best thing is it would be free for one time only!!

Let me know. If we haven't got any interest, I will get rid off by some other means.

Dad

Musings on Elder Foster

I enjoyed talking to Drew so much on Saturday and realized once again how much I love him and how much I love what a mission does for young men and young women. I'm so impressed with his dedication and focused efforts. I had some other thoughts about him.

• I feel he has been quite a bit sicker than he has let on. He told me kind of without saying much that he had come down with malaria many more times than he has indicated. I worry about the long term effects of this on him to tell you the truth.
• I thought his speech pattern was a little different and he really had some strange way of saying things but overall, I think his talking was just fine compared to what I thought it would be. He just kind of talked with a funny way of saying some things, small, small. He certainly is "getting it"
• I think the Goose is profoundly different than when he started his mission. I note a humility and humbleness that only comes from living so completely in that culture. I think we will have a person who thinks we are right on the border of decadent living when he comes home.
• He told us they are the highest baptizing mission in the church. Before they split the mission he said they were baptizing 5,000 per year. Last month they baptized 259 in the mission...in one month. That is a ward a month. I hope they retain a lot, but they probably have a problem in that area.
• He said that now in the mission they have about 40% of the Elders from non -African areas. I think this is a result of so many Africans not knowing how the church runs and they need more experienced Elders with how the church functions.
• He is still very focused. Didn't want to talk about anything to do with coming home. School, living with Addie, Kristen, going to the Ranch....nothing. The man is a missionary machine at this point.

I am so grateful Drew is serving the Lord in this way. I am glad he is there but I will be glad when he is home. Thanks so much for each of you and taking the time to talk to him. It is amazing to me that spread out as we are, we were all able to talk to him like we did.

Have a great week.

Dad

Welcome to the World, Maxwell Tyler Foster!

Hi folks, Wendi here...since no one else has beat me to the punch, I thought I would take the liberty of posting the pics of the latest addition to clan Foster...many thanks to Ty and Dana for sending them! ~W

Elder Foster's phone call on Mother's Day

Sometime this week I'm going to try and get a hold of Goose and figure out when we can talk to him next Sunday, on Mother's Day. I hope you can all make yourself available sometime when we get this all figured out. We will tie you all in as we have in the past. Of course, Little Maxwell might have a thing to say about Ty and Dana joining in but we see how that goes and do what we can there.

Please let me know if you can join us and I'll give you the details later in the week.

Dad

The Forever Fosters

Here is the family pic from Breckenridge. Thought I would try and practice uploading pictures on this site. Not sure why, but just wanted to see if I could do it. I just want you all to know this is my favorite group of people in the whole world.

I'm very excited about us all being together this summer.

Dad

Update on Grand Poopa of Blogging

Mark has rebuked yours truly adn my arcane ideas on the Forever Foster Blog and so I take back everything I said. As I understand the puppeteer (I am the puppet just in case you didn't know) I am to try and just post updates, general newsy stuff and information that you all might be interested in. There will be no discussions on this site and we will leave it to your individual interests as to visiting the individual sites for entering into the deep discussions we all so know and love. I will comply with the Master and will do my best to move this thing along.

In all honesty, it is a swell idea....I hope we all can periodically check in and update your own sites and check into this one for other information.

Dad

The Future of the Blog

(This is Mark writing this entry.)

OK, I'm starting to think that we made a mistake in appointing the Mick to be the Grandmaster Blogger of the Forever Fosters site. He apparently can't handle it, as he has yet to make a single significant entry into the blogosphere. I would suggest that we replace him, but I'm willing to give him one more shot. If he still can't walk the walk and talk the talk, then I think Large Marge should take over. The Mick has his own blog anyway . . .

Now, I would like to open up a question for discussion. What do YOU, the Foster Clan, want out of this Forever Fosters blog? Now that we each have our own blogs linked to this one, what type of info should be on this site? Who should manage it? How should it look? What is the purpose of it?

I see it as a sort of portal/newsletter/announcement site. Also, I haven't tried to figure it out yet, but I believe that we can set this up so that all of us are teammembers on this site, so that we can each make entries under our own sign-in names.

So, if you are reading this, please make a comment attached to this posting, and let's get some dialogue going here about the future of this blog. And maybe the Mick will do something about it. But probably not . . . :)

--Mark