My Christmas wish list

Remember as a child when you wrote out your Christmas wish list to Santa? You started in crayon, moved to a large, soft lead pencil and then just forgot about writing Santa as you got a little older, probably around the same time you graduated to an ink pen. I have to admit that I gave up making Christmas wish lists a long time ago. My kids, though, took care of that little chore for a lot of years. I don't think my wish lists as a child were quite as lengthy as were theirs!

Now that my children are grown and on their own, I'm thinking I want to harken back to earlier times and make a Christmas wish list. Not one for myself, as I could not ask for more, but a Christmas wish list for my colleagues and for my profession.

For my Editor in Chief, Gretchyn Bailey: I wish for you a case of 5-Hour Energy. I honestly don't know how you do what you do. Your clock has got to have more than 24 hours in a day.

For our Associate Optometric Editor Kathy Mastrota: I wish for you a stopwatch. You really need to slow down a little bit. You are a whirlwind. Or alternatively, I wish for you a southern accent so I can understand what you're saying when we're on the phone.

For the Primary Care Section of the American Academy of Optometry: I wish for us a few good Diplomates. The section can use some more working hands. It's amazing what so few people can accomplish. Mike Ohlson, Hal Bohlman, and Mike Radoiu, you are the tip of the sword. It is an honor to be associated with you.

For the inner sanctum: I wish I could see you guys more often than I do. With each passing year, I realize I'm hurling toward eternity, and I cherish the times I have with friends. I would never have gotten through optometry school without your help, support, and friendship. Mike Brown, Ray Spurlock, and Chris Teichmiller: words cannot express what you guys meant to me then, and still do.

I have a long list of wishes for my office staff, but because they think I'm Santa Claus, I guess it's up to my partner and I to make those wishes come true. 

For my former writing partner Gregg Russell, I wish you a visit from the Muse and for you to start writing again. You are a talented writer and have much to offer. I miss our collaborations.

Also on the list, I would wish peace within our profession. There has been way too much bickering, divisiveness, and just general ill will in the last few years over a lot of issues. I wish for optometry to put all of that behind us and refocus on what's important: the unique opportunity we have to care for the patients who choose to grace our chair.

And to our readers, I wish health and happiness in the coming year. Everything we do at this magazine is for our readers, and I wish for you to continue to let me know how we can make this magazine even better and more helpful for your practice. Peace and prosperity throughout this holiday season and all of 2014!ODT