I'd like to share an excerpt from my just-released memoir, Journeying Well: On Life's Rocky Trails. You can get your very own copy here to read the whole story.
This is from the chapter, "Building a Family Life":
I loved taking my children to my vet clinic and having them see all the animals. I enjoyed having them watch me care for my patients. When I had weekend emergency calls, I would often take one or two of my children with me to the clinic or out to the farms where the emergency was taking place. They enjoyed being with me and being around all the animals. As they got older, they would help me at vaccination clinics, hand me equipment on farm calls, and do cleaning at the clinic. I remember when Cody was two and I would put him on the counter as I was examining animals. I would turn around and find him eating Pet Tabs from the treat jar. My children would watch me do surgeries from the time they were three or four. I remember Mariah coming into the clinic from the time she was a preschooler and pulling up a step stool next to my treatment table to watch me doing minor surgeries. My children remember watching me do surgery on a bear, and later on a bald eagle. They loved seeing the baby animals and helping with C-sections. It instilled in my children a love for animals that they carry with them to this day.
