Signs

Strange that after you commit to a life-changing detour, signs seem to appear from everywhere. In our ten years of private practice, we have lost many patients and just like Buck from the Call of the Wild, each patient lost represents another untethered bond. Last night, my 89 year old neighbor, friend and patient for the last ten years that I have been here died in the nursing home. I had spent a lot of time with this old man who had lost his wife eight years earlier and I had always promised him that I would never leave him. My four daughters would regularly visit him and raid his cookie jar. This morning, when my 5 year old was informed about his death, she said that he was now in heaven and I took this as a sure sign that I was finally free to go home.