clothes . In middle school , I got up in the night once because I figured out how to braid more than three things and needed to test it . It worked . I helped my dad do the upholstery on a 1927 Model A that he restored . I am gifted in music : singing and acting in musicals in primary and secondary school . I can play by ear , have relative pitch and learned both the piano and organ , eventually being a paid wedding singer and organist . A jean jacket I appliqued and embroidered won the grand prize in fine arts at the Kentucky State Fair in 2022 , and I took a first-place prize for a pecan pie in culinary arts some years earlier .
My dad was a successful engineer and designer in the tool and saw blade industry . Outside of work , he created many beautiful pieces of woodworking and metalcraft that I and other family members cherish . He told me once that he couldn ’ t do the business endeavors without the artistic pursuits outside of work . He was one of those people for whom religion was work ethic and who ascribed to the saying that if you loved your work , you never worked another day in your life .
In medicine , there really was no doubt in my specialty choice : pediatrics . I am so very fascinated with growth and development , the variability of milestones and aptitudes : like the athletic couple who have a child who is crawling at six months and walking at nine months , as compared to the articulate couple who have the verbally precocious baby who isn ’ t interested in mobility and attains walking by 15 months .
Pediatrics involves trust and long-term relationship building with parents and children . Though many people dismiss infants as “ lumps ” until a certain age , if you really pay attention and make eye contact with a 4-month-old infant , you begin to hear and see their communication , the exquisite “ oohs ” and “ aahs ” of early language as they try to connect with you . I remember once a woman whose 18-month-old daughter came in with the symptoms of new onset insulin dependent diabetes ( formerly juvenile diabetes ). Her history was classic , and it took only a finger stick and urine to be sure of the diagnosis . The mother then said to me , “ Do you think I can do this ?” I felt her fear , being there with her totally in that moment , and I told her I believed in her ability , and I told her about all the help and partnership we would bring to bear for her and her daughter . I ran into her in the last few years , and she talked to me excitedly about her daughter ’ s college pursuits . help women and their infants in that incredibly fragile moment of their lives . Bringing to each situation the breadth of our acquired knowledge and experience , and the commitment too , to new , up to date science and its application , has been a gift to my life .
Once , when I came home exhausted after absorbing other people ’ s pain and fear while on call for our practice , I received an expected box of random mix geometric tiles for a fireplace wall . An hour or so later , with three different geometric designs suitable to the project , my distress turned to a quiet joy . People have told me throughout my life that I try to do too many things , should narrow my interests , but these outside creative interests restore the responsive compassion I need to be the pediatrician I hope I am , a life lesson I learned from my dad .
In the last few years , I ran into the term “ polymath ” and the definition resonates with me : it ’ s about developing one ’ s abilities in many areas to a significant degree .
Should I need to choose another field in retrospect ( the retrospectroscope being so much clearer ) I would have become a landscape architect . It would encompass the love I always had of the outdoors . I ’ d be interacting with people to create welcoming , nurturing places to live , work , play and relax . I ’ d have art , geometry , spatial relationships , physical and mental exercise , satisfying my ongoing fascination with plants , color , design and function . But I have loved and am grateful to have been a pediatrician .
Designing a tile floor to meet a need is immensely satisfying and a little fearful – it is set in stone , after all – but infinitely less important than making the right choices for a child .
Dr . Cowley is a retired pediatrician and avid gardener .
This essay was a submission to the 2024 Richard Spear , MD , Memorial Essay Contest .
I loved my job . I loved being able to do my best and never lie . I loved devising ways to work on a problem for a patient : we do this and if that ’ s not right , we try another approach . I loved being there , honorable and knowledgeable for them . I believe in healthful living and habits and tried to teach that from the beginning of life .
I am a lactation consultant for the same reason : to empower and December 2024 15