Milestone

First he counted down the days, then the minutes, and ultimately the seconds. At last it is here -- today my father retired, 11 days shy of his 63rd birthday. No longer will I have to explain to people who ask that not only are some Floridians my father's age not retirees, but that there are even enough families to allow someone to make a living as a pediatrician.

At 36, I have finally begun to grasp the magnitude of the number of years he worked (fully understanding that many work even longer), first toward supporting his family, and then toward covering the costs of my parents' retirement. In some sense, he began his professional career when I was born -- my Mom's water broke his first day on the job in the Navy (and because it was his first day, he made Mom iron his uniform before he took her to the hospital -- that was the last thing my mother ever ironed). It gives me pause to think that he has worked all those years (and for years before then as a resident, etc.), and that as a doctor, he often had to get up in the middle of the night to take calls (during the decade or so he was a solo practitioner, he was on call every weeeknight but one, and every other weekend), occasionally having to go to the hospital then as well. He would do this after working a full day, and before the next full day of work. That part of his life is now over.

The field of medicine has changed greatly during his 30 years in private practice -- insurance companies, hospitals, and even medical practices that want to squeeze every last penny have made it so that their judgments play a role in how medicine is practiced. And of course, the rise of malpractice suits has made it so that every decision is second-guessed in a lawsuit when a patient doesn't fully recover, even when the doctor followed a reasonable course of action. Such stress above and beyond the stresses inherent in simply being a physician has made my father ready to leave the field for several years.

He has retired at a young enough age that I can reasonably hope that many years of good health will accompany his retirement. Mom has no plans to retire yet, so he'll have full control over keeping himself busy. He wants to travel more (this weekend he heads to Israel for a 2-week trip), and at his suggestion his children got him a gift certificate for scuba gear (he is certified). He also wants to try to introduce the game of Bridge into schools. He sees chess there, but believes Bridge can be better -- it encourages teamwork; and it teaches that while luck will determine the cards you're dealt, your success depends on what you make of them. I admit that I am skeptical whether he can succeed, but I do see it as an interesting endeavor.

Retirement is a transition, and as I've learned by observing my father-in-law, it can take a while for one to find one's niche. I hope that my father gets comfortable with his quickly.