2008 Holiday Newsletter

What a year! Its all about change these days. We live in a time of tumult internationally and nationally so why not kick up the dust at home?

We've had our firstborn heading off to college, Peg launching into a new career in full force, Kristin settling into the high school scene as a sophomore and Mike orchestrating changes in primary care delivery models at work that foreshadow the reforms coming to medical care nationally. That's all...

Daniel- (18)- started at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington this fall. He is enjoying his new friends, his classes and his entry into adult life. He started out with classes that he felt were so different than the high school experience - things he was interested in a challenged too. Psychology, Socialogy and Creative Writing. He and Mike are often spotted in Winthrop when on breaks shooting trap or plinking at the range. Daniel is interested in graphic work and has being working on some projects for friends. His skill in writing is clear- we'll have to see where it leads.

Kristin - (16) - sophomore at Ballard High School. Really "hangs out" with her friends a LOT! Text messaging at mach 2, lots of buzz with all of the communication options available- its hard to know if she is able to chill. She is a voracious reader though and that buys her some down time. Her photography skills are excellent - she captures things that many of us don't see. One of her works is below:

Peg has been diligently working on her writing and this year, she has had a number of successes - two publications in literary journals, 3rd place in the NW Writers Association contest, won a contest at the Tamales Bay Writers Workshop with a full scholarship, an essay accepted into an anthology on "Becoming a Doctor". A very fruitful year with great accomplishments. She now has an agent representing her who is going to take her first short story collection to publishers this Spring. Wow! Add on to that managing the household, the kids, the "big boys" Oliver and Zorro, the gardens, etc., and life gets full fast.

Mike is diving into more leadership roles in Family Medicine. He is working on tranforming our primary care system into a more affordable and effective first line of medicine that it can and must be in our communities. There are many involved across the country and the momentum for change has finally reached the tipping point. We may actually have a system that makes sense in this country in a couple years. On the side, the medical video work this last year was intense as well - a project done for South Africa on preventing deaths in mom's having babies, a major procedures training series that will be published in the Spring of '09, and the usually family and outdoor videos to boot.

Otherwise we aren't doing a dang thing!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mike

For the latest videos and adventure stuff, go to www.drtelemark.com and checkout the video section.

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2006 Christmas Newsletter