The Halloween game certainly changes when you have kids. Did you know that across the pond in places like Britain and Ireland people have been going house to house to collect food at Halloween for hundreds of years? Here among the amber waves of grain it’s only been happening since the 20’s. We always have a tough time deciding if we should dress up with the kids and both take them around, or leave someone stationed at home to hand out candy. I guess you could do like the Doc and call for an Uber driver and then have them hand out your candy. The last few years I have seen more and more people that have extravagant set ups at their homes, but it’s centered around the adults. I was at a house on Halloween night that had a full bar, a fire, hot apple cider and a DJ. Needless to say, the Deacon stayed to make sure that everyone’s drink was blessed. There’s even a famous talk show host that asks parents to pretend they ate all the kids candy just to get their reactions. However you celebrate, make sure you find a way to make it about the kids. Our church has an awesome trunk or treat that’s an easy way for families to enjoy the experience in a safe environment. And it makes it easy for the Deacon to grab the full size candy bars cuz they are from the devil himself. Don’t ring my bell, the light is off, and the Deacon is celebrating on the highway to heaven.

Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

Your cough is viral.

No Zpack for you.

The Deacon is always working harder on his Dad Brain than his Dad Bod.  Being a dual income household with activity aged kids can put a huge amount of tension on family life.  With so many things fighting for our attention we try to make a habit of sharing meals together.  A CDC study in 2017 revealed that kids 8-10 spend 6 hours a day in front of a screen, and that goes up 50 % for kids 11-14.  If we signed all 3 up for gymnastics we could not afford cable or the internet, so that is one solution.  According to thefamilydinnerproject.org “regular family dinners have been to behaviors that parent pray for – like lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy and depression.”  These children reportedly also have higher GPA’s and self-esteem.  Studies also show that dinner conversation is a bigger vocabulary booster than reading.  Throw in a story from the Bible and together you can learn about faith, perseverance and the proper way to use “thou shalt not fear” to begin a story.

There is no magic number to how often to do this for greater success.  The secret is to go Michael Jordan and “Just Do It.”  Do not forget that pre-dinner prayer to make sure the healthy balanced meal is blessed and prevent the rise in childhood obesity.  Prayers do not prevent the flu … vaccinations do that.    Just for you Doc.

The Deacon Speaketh

A vodka cranberry is refreshing on a Friday night. Rocking out to the band the Cranberries can get you in a very grunge rocking mood.  But drinking a cranberry juice for a urinary tract infection has minimal clinical efficacy.  Enjoy cranberries.  But in a productive way.

The Doc is In

I love seeing patients.  But cannot stand meetings.  Today I could not help chirping many times during a leadership meeting.  At the end of the meeting a colleague said you should get your own show on medicine.  Little did he know I already have one.  Hope everyone is enjoying Season 2.  More podcasting.  Less meetings for me.

The Doc is In