Sunday Morning

I woke up Sunday morning in usual fashion. While waiting for my slumbering little people to wake up, wondering about breakfast, I laid in bed reading the news. Normally on Sunday mornings I read the news and then I get up and write on my blog. As soon as my eyes rested on an article about what had happened in Orlando I thought to myself anything about our lives I have to write today does not matter. So I rested the computer and took an extra moment in my daily morning prayers to pray for the victims of this senseless tragedy. It has taken me a few days to digest the gravity of that situation. And the more I thought about it the more I realized I do have something to say about it.

We are a family of faith. Our faith resonates in everything we do, and especially to how we treat other people. We teach our children love and tolerance and expect them to treat others with kindness. We do this not only through our words but also through our own actions.

When I saw the name of the of the shooter in this incident my heart froze, not out of fear, but because I knew the backlash of the hateful rhetoric that would soon accompany it.
 I am not a person who speaks openly of politics nor religion. However, on this day I need to take this opportunity to voice my opinion.
It saddens me to see the hateful things that people including leaders and politicians are propagating. Thoughtless comments, that due to ignorance and a lack of understanding, instill fear in others at a time when our beautiful country needs to be showing love and kindness.

One week ago an amazing pioneer (Muhammad Ali) lost his final fight and through his death the teachings of what he believed in was spread throughout the world. In a matter of days it took one xenophobic ignorant person, who does not represent Islam, to completely undo everything that was exemplified last week. For every hateful thing that has been said or written in the wake of this horrific and painful situation I have seen just as many beautiful stories of fellow Muslim-Americans standing in lines in Orlando for hours with the thousands of others, while fasting, to donate blood. Women wearing hijab, also fasting, who were walking down the line to give food and drink to those waiting to give blood. Let us not lose sight of the bigger picture of what we are facing as a nation. Let us not alienate another group of people because someone "claiming" religion committed a heinous tragedy. Let us not contribute to the xenophobia that lead to this crime. Instead let us unite to foster a solution and continue to show love and kindness to everyone irrespective of their race, religion, orientation, country of origin or beliefs.

May we continue to pray for the victims' of those that suffer at the hands of terrorists; their families and for our country as a whole. May God help us as a people to never loose sight of the qualities and inclusivity that has defined our nation.

The Surgeon and The Chef

I know I used this picture in my very first post but I just love it.

I'm sure when you saw the subject on this post you thought, oh a surgeon who moonlights as a chef?! Now my husband can cook a few things (though 99% of the time I am the one cooking the food around here) but he is not a chef.
A few weeks back we had rented a movie called Burnt. I personally liked that movie, though it didn't get great reviews on the tomato meter. Then the following week we ended up watching a documentary on a two Michelin star chef trying to obtain his third star. It was while we were watching these two movies that I began to see a lot of similarities between chefs and surgeons and the environments in which they work and live. During the documentary I told my husband that it looked like the life of a chef was very similar to his. The chef is the responsible party for the entire kitchen and how the food is turned out. Just like the surgeon is the responsible party in the operating room. That being said though, the chef and the surgeon are only as successful as the staff they work with. Each member in the kitchen plays an integral role in the success of the restaurant. From the cooking line down to the dish washer and garbage remover. Like wise the operating room is only successful with the competence and diligence of the anesthesia personal, nurses, techs all the way through to environmental services.
The hours of the chef are like the hours of the surgeon. The chef in the documentary was putting in 12-16 hour days, EVERY day. The surgeons hours very similar.
The chef was discussing how it took a toll on his family. His commitment to his work brought struggles to his marriage and ultimately led to an unfortunate dissolution of it. When we first moved for my husbands fellowship it was a pretty big struggle. I remember in the first few months calling a friend of mine whose husband was now an attending to talk about what was going on. She told me that fellowship put a huge strain on their marriage but if you can weather that you can weather just about anything. The hours are ridiculous. The commitment is hard to understand sometimes. But in order to move to the next level it must be done.
The training of a chef also appears to be very similar to the surgeon. The demanding mentors, the pressure to not mess up, the occasional hazing. All difficult to navigate but ultimately the process by which they make sure you are good enough to make the cut.   
The chef discussed personal sacrifice. Time with his children. Time with his friends. Time for himself. I have seen this first hand in the surgeons life as well. People have commented to me about how my husbands hours may get better once he is done with training, to which I respond "have you met my husband?" All joking aside though there is a personality characteristic to these driven career choices. There is no clocking out at the end of the day or shift. Work is always in the forefront of their mind. Always pushing to the next level of achievement. Not taking no for an answer. It is something to be admired but also something that causes difficulty in their life and the lives of those around them. I have a whole different perspective now watching that documentary of the chef's life and I can't help but wonder what further damage my waistline would've seen had my husband pursued a career as a driven chef instead of a surgeon. At the end of the day though I must admit I am pretty proud that his "cutting" skills help to add longevity and quality to some little child's life, instead of adding to my waistline.