There have been a few "firsts" at my house this week, most of them care of my two-year-old grandson Lucas.
He’s a California kid, growing up in warm and sunny San Diego, where his father has been stationed with the U.S. Navy. That’s all changing now, as the family is moving to Maine, where the Navy is building three new stealth destroyers at the Bath Iron Works shipyard.
The crew spent a few days at Nana and Papa’s house in the suburbs outside Boston waiting for their stuff to arrive from California.
On Saturday, Lucas was mesmerized by the sight of the two guys who had come to do the fall cleanup in our yard. “Leaves, leaves,” he said excitedly, pointing out the front window, watching the men with leaf blowers on their backs gathering up mountains of leaves. Who knew a fall cleanup could be so exciting? It was the first time he had seen so many fallen leaves, and he went from window to window watching the show outside.
Then on Monday morning he woke up to snow. It was only a dusting, probably an inch or so. On came the jacket, the boots, and the mittens and out the door he went to play in the snow for the first time. Following the lead of his older sister, he swiped snow off the cars and made snowballs to throw to the dog.
No doubt he’s in store for many more firsts in the months ahead. There will be plenty of change for the whole family: new house, new job, new school, new town, new people.
It made me think about all the change that we know the whole country is about to experience. And how divided we are about that prospect. In a poll about their picks for the biggest healthcare stories of 2016, physicians pointed to the election of Donald Trump and the potential repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
But they were completely divided on what it means: Nearly a third of doctors called Trump’s election the most frustrating news in 2016, while nearly a third said it was the most exciting.
Some of us are excited about the change that Trump might bring to Washington, and some of us are filled with dread.
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Among doctors, the issue came to a head with the president-elect’s appointment of conservative congressman Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., a physician who is a longtime critic of the ACA, as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
When the American Medical Association, the country’s largest physician group, quickly endorsed Price’s nomination, it set off a firestorm of protest from more liberal-minded doctors.
Hundreds of AMA members signed an open letter saying many of Price’s positions are inconsistent with long-standing AMA policies. Thousands of doctors also signed a letter to the AMA titled “The AMA Does Not Speak for Us,” which was posted by the advocacy group Clinician Action Network.
Doctors aren’t in agreement about whether Price’s appointment will be good or bad for them. Americans aren’t in agreement whether Trump’s election will be good or bad for the country.
One thing is for sure: As it does for my grandson, change lies ahead for all of us.