5:15am: My alarm goes off. If I slept through the night, there is a 50% chance that I am about to be startled as I realize either our 2-year-old (Bodie) or 4-year-old (Sophie) is sleeping 2 inches from my face. I sneak out of bed and mold my pillow in a way that makes it seem I am still next to them. This is a desperate attempt to have some quiet time before the typical morning chaos ensues. I walk out of the room shaking my head and wondering how I did not notice them sneaking in bed in the middle of the night.
There is a good chance my wife (Jenny) is already walking our dog (Lola.) I walk to the kitchen only to realize she has once again beat me to the satisfying act of pushing the ON button on the coffeemaker. I briefly glance at my phone/email/calendar to see if anything needs early attention or for a reminder of early meetings.
5:20am: While I wait for Jenny to finish walking Lola, I realize the dishwasher is clean. I race to empty it before she gets back. Once she walks in, I smile next to the empty dishwasher and ask her if I can go on a run before the kids wake up. She always agrees even though she knows there is a high likelihood that Sophie and Bodie will wake up and ask for one thousand things while she is nursing our 9-month-old (Remi.)
5:30am: I rush out the door to start my run before the kids wake up. I have Lola with me if she didn’t get a walk yet. I’m probably listening to Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats or some completely random playlist during my run. As my run ends and I get closer to the house, I laugh to myself while imagining what chaos I might walk into.
6:10am: I walk into the house to see Bodie pouring his milk into Lola’s dog food bowl and then dumping it all over the laundry room floor. I chase him as he runs away. He “helps” me clean it up and begrudgingly says sorry to Lola. Jenny and I work together to get the kids dressed and started on breakfast. I jump in the shower.6:45am: I’m dressed, ready, and jump on the morning huddle. I try to listen in most days to get a feel for what’s happening in our clinical areas at BJH. Our scheduling and clinical teams regularly amaze me with how they collaborate and overcome any obstacle.7:00-7:15am: If it’s a Tuesday or Thursday, I’m probably on kid drop-off duty. I herd the kids into the car and drop them off at daycare/preschool on my way to campus.7:45-8:00am: I’m in my office and sip coffee as I scan my Outlook email/calendar and Microsoft To-Do. I field emails, make a quick phone call or two, and say hello to anyone in Peters office suite before my 8:30am meeting.8:30-9:00am: Zoom meeting with Lisa Parks and Lawrence Cross to catch up about any priority items, review current status of office space needs for upcoming fiscal year, and check in with how everyone on the team is doing. Lawrence and Lisa run the show for the South administration and clinical operations teams. They are amazing! I consider myself lucky that I get to work with passionate and dedicated leaders like them.9:00-10:00am: Zoom meeting with Mary Sommer, Jean Shim, and Amy Stabenow to review a tableau report we have been collaborating on. The meeting is very productive and I am excited about the value the report should bring to the scheduling, clinical, and operations leaders!10:00-11:00am: One on One meeting with the talented Mr. Nicholas Wiscons: (AKA my boss who is about to take an exciting role with WUSTL Orthopedic Surgery).11:00am I take a quick lap through both floors of Peters to say hi to anyone on the team and attempt to catch a clinical leader in passing for a quick conversation. I refill my Nalgene with water (I feel lost without it) and head back to my office. I work on a few of my to-do list items and remind myself to allow time for lunch before my 1pm. 12:40pm: I was in the zone with a priority task and/or valuable conversation and now realize I have little time to eat before my next meeting. I rush out of my office and convince myself I still have enough time to take the long way through the link on my way to the cafeteria. I grab a turkey sandwich and/or a salad and get back before my 1:00pm. 1:00-2:00pm: WUDA GI Meeting with Amy Stabenow, Lawrence Cross, Audrey Vincent, Dr. Ivan Kangrga, Dr. Jason Gillihan, Dr. Bhavi Mehta, and Dr. Selma Ishag. I convinced them to smile for a screenshot!
2:00-3:00pm: Work though more of my to-do list and prepare for my next meeting.3:00-4:00pm: Zoom meeting with Drs. TJ Graetz and Tracey Stevens to discuss some CT related items we are collaborating on. We stay on task but have fun in our meetings. 4:00-4:40pm: I harass Corrin Noel in a Microsoft Teams chat until she agrees to talk “briefly” with me about a finance-related question I have. She knows it’s likely a trap and probably not “brief” but is always so helpful. She’s a wealth of knowledge so I try to capitalize on the fact that I have her on the phone.4:40-5:10pm: I finish up a few emails and collect my thoughts and notes from the meetings/conversations of the day. I review my calendar for the rest of the week, update Microsoft To-Do, and ensure that I am set up for success for the next day’s meetings/tasks.
5:35pm: I return home to Sophie and Bodie playing in the backyard while Jenny (and Remi) are preparing dinner (a few days each week I do pick up and get dinner ready.) I change clothes and rush out to the backyard to discover that Bodie now has the water hose and is trying to spray Sophie who is cornered on the top of our playground. I defuse the situation and we play for a bit before Jenny tells us dinner is ready. I get the kids inside but can’t help that on my way in I saw exactly three weeds coming up in the lawn. I can’t resist and run to pull them out of the grass. Sophie and Bodie see me back outside and run back out. It takes me another five minutes to get them back inside. We eat dinner as a family which is always entertaining with three kids that are four and under. If there is time before bedtime, we go for a walk, ride bikes, or play games.7:00-8:00pm Bath and bedtime routine. Some nights this takes till 8:30pm or later.8:00-10:00pm Finish cleaning up dinner, pack bottles, lunches, etc, for the next morning. During the week, this is some of the only time Jenny and I get a chance to talk, make plans, watch TV, or just sit on the couch in silence.If we are watching TV: Jenny has probably disagreed with every show/movie/documentary suggestion I have offered and convinced me to watch something else only to fall asleep within 5 minutes 99% of the time. 🙂 Around 10:00-10:30pm we are hopefully in bed and I’m probably attempting to read more than 3 pages of something before I fall asleep. Occasionally, its 11:00pm, 11:30pm, or later.
