My wife and I had a very close relationship with our kids pediatrician. It’s not surprising…he was my wife’s dad.
He was a great father and father-in-law, and a great pediatrician. He not only was up on his game; he had a lot of wisdom that he shared about the normal types of events that happen with a young child. And he always gave the kids a treat and tickled them which they loved.
His work was his hobby, so even though he kept long hours and made house calls, he never really worked a day of his life. He just loved doing his job. One of my many recalls of him is his sitting in his favorite chair reading a journal, either of pediatrics or the New England Journal of Medicine. So in addition to his pediatric practice, he often had very good medical advice for everyone in the family.
When he retired in his eighties, I wrote this song for him. It was bitter-sweet. He had gotten ill and wasn’t able to practice any more, so it was time for him to stop. It was hard for him, but also, it was hard for my wife and I to imagine saying goodbye to our kid’s pediatrician for just another doctor.
As the song goes towards the end, “It’s hard to say goodbye, to people that we know…Change is really scary; but without change, how would we grow.” When he passed away, I this song to him at his funeral… It’s hard to say goodbye…
Here’s Dr. Glazier is Retiring, with music, lyrics and vocals by me, piano featuring Ben Schwendener, drums Mike Calabrese and on bass, Bridget Kearney, the latter two now at Lake Street Dive.
I hope you enjoy it! CLICK HERE to listen. It’s on the HealthRock Kid’s Edition CD if you want to listen to other of my songs.
