At the Pankey Institute, one of our key tenets we teach is work-life balance. I like to Walk the Talk in my life, and live by the principles I teach.
While I love dentistry, my greatest joy in life is spending time with my little boy. One day I organized my schedule to show up as the Mystery Reader at my son’s preschool class. Armed with a book about Rudolph and an elf costume, I laughed my way to the school. Some of the kids knew the story of Rudolph word-for-word, but I admit I had forgotten the part about the elf Hermey wanting to be a dentist and feeling really out of place with his kind for being different. The story goes on to tell how Rudolph and Hermey were both “misfits” but overcame the stigma to use their gifts for the greater good. What a message!
I loved my time telling that story that day – I shared the joy of my profession with the joy of twenty children that day. The epitome of work-life balance!