Wealthier Than Bill!
Wealth: /welTH/ from Middle English, "well" and "health"
I have a little story here to tell.
Last night I was driving home from our desert office after working with these two beauties and then having a laughter filled picnic dinner as the sun set on the clubhouse court at La Quinta - our family Mecca/home. (Ignore the guy in the NASA cap above - he wasn't there!)
I was honestly just basking in the glow from being part of the "twin-universe". Sometimes they just let me fully in and I share the connectedness, deep admiration, and love they uniquely share with each other.
This was one of those special times and as I pulled a left off the 111 onto Portola (to connect to the Palms to Pines highway 74 that would take me up over the pass and down toward the coast and home), I felt a smile on my face as I looked to my left and saw the western guardhouse of The Vintage country club passing by.
"Bill", I thought. "I'm sorry."
Because inside those gates, which I had visited 11 years ago in my brief almost-brush with billionaires and trust-fund heirs was Bill Gates, holed-up trying to figure it all out.
Just before the smile it had struck me.
I'm happier than Bill Gates."
Supremely happier. And so grateful.
A happiness that all his billions could never buy. Gratitude for the true riches of life.
I love my wife of 39 years.
I enjoy going out on dates. Making her popcorn every evening as she settles in with Hallmark. Tending to her when she doesn't eel well. Laughing with her. Even dealing with her when she pouts.
And my other daughters? I admire them immensely, enjoy time with them, and they seem proud to be my daughters.
And I have a beloved staff, and a group of patients that are like family, who hug me and tell me they love me and pray for my happiness and success.
And I have friends who I have known for 40-50 years who are closer and more dear than ever. And some much more recent, but are just as special.
You know who you are.
Yes, I admit it. I have it pretty damn good.
I told several of my patients this story today and prefaced it with,
"I must confide in you. I actually am very wealthy."
Then I tell them why and they just nod and beam and say, "Truth, Doc."
One even said I deserve it all. And I agree.
Maybe that's part of it - me agreeing.
So there it is. This is why I'm thankful. I have something Bill's Billions will never buy. What has escaped his grasp and perhaps his furthest imagination. Loyalty to another. Joy at the privilege of serving others. The love from many. A sense of personal integrity that is unshakable. And at the same time humbling.
Priceless.
Truly, I am the richest dentist of all.
Love to you all,
Dad / Dave / Doc / Friend