Anyone that knows our family knows that we have numerous pets in our house at any given time. We have been known to foster/adopt pets from others that have to be re-homed. I am such a softy for anything in need, and my kids are always excited to welcome new members to the family. Over the years we have had a wide variety of pets from guinea pigs, turtles, chameleons, and hedgehogs. One of our favorite pets was the hedgehog that we had as they are pretty easy to care for and don’t require much. This year for Christmas Andrew really wanted a hedgehog for his present. So, we went about a month ago to pick it up and bring it home - a sweet little peanut named Lola. The other night, I told Andrew he should get her out for the day to play. When he went to get her out he excitedly shared that there were two hedgehogs. Much to my disbelief! Upon further inspection, sure enough she had two babies. Needless to say we were all quite surprised. However, as I listened to my kids I was completely amazed at their ability to quickly adapt to this surprise. Within minutes they had a plan on how we were going to care for them and how we could use the extra cages in the attic to separate them when they were older. They didn’t miss a beat and transitioned into action with excitement and enthusiasm.
I believe one of our greatest skills in healthcare is our ability to adapt and change quickly. I have seen it so many times over this past year where we have been presented new challenges and embraced them with quick planning and problem solving. I am constantly amazed by our teams and their ability to initiate change when needed. One of the things that I have seen wane over the last few months is our excitement and enthusiasm for change. I know it is difficult to have excitement or enthusiasm during a pandemic, I truly do. I know the pandemic has been draining for everyone, and we have all given our very best this past year, and I am incredibly grateful for all of your efforts. As we start to think about 2021, I challenge you to rekindle some of that excitement and enthusiasm. If I have learned nothing else over this past year, I have learned that we are invincible when we are all working towards the same goal. Let’s dream big in 2021 and know that we are unstoppable!
