A Memorable Reunion with My Residents

A Time for Reconnecting, Reflecting Rejoicing and Rejuvenating

No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth.

—Robert Southey

Smiles, happy conversations, hugs, laughter, tears of joy and lots of delicious food marked this recent Memorial Day at my home. More than a dozen of my past UTHSC-COM Chattanooga residents, now settled in different US states and Chattanooga, gathered for a reunion. Though we were meeting many after several years, the time that had lapsed just melted away. It felt like it was just yesterday that we were together.

I am truly humbled and grateful that this group of wonderful young physicians planned and made an effort to travel with their families, all the way to Chattanooga to gather. As their teacher, now colleague and admirer, I feel a deep sense of pride. They have accomplished so much, both personally and professionally.

Seeing them as full-fledged independent physicians, giving back to the community that they serve, seeing them as mothers, fathers, spouses, leaders and colleagues, poised with humble confidence, brought me immense joy and hope.  They each are planting the seeds and making the world a better place by being in it and fulfilling their purpose in every role.

Less than 48 hours together has given me the gift that will keep on giving many fold. I know it took a commitment; it was not easy for them to travel by air or drive half a day with young children for a short visit. In addition, they each came bearing personalized gifts, our favorite foods homemade or purchased mindful to be gluten free (to accommodate my new allergy), traditional handicrafts, flowers, and chocolates.

We also celebrated gratitude with our gratitude tree, each leaf placed by a family or an individual. In the background, a beautiful circular wooden plaque hand designed and painted by a couple with the words: “Grateful hearts gathered here” in the center, a perfect depiction of our circle of community, our circle of love and support, our circle of belonging!

I was touched when they remembered my mantra “Happy Thoughts.” This mantra was given to me and our family by my daughter in her early teens. On one of our long car rides home in the midst of a heated conversation with her friend, she invited us to have happy thoughts, an invitation that allowed us to reflect and pause and reframe our mindset. While this was almost two decades ago, since then this mantra has helped me reframe situations, especially those that are challenging or hurtful and turn to wonder and curiosity rather than judgment or defensiveness. We all donned T-shirts with “Happy Thoughts” on them, as we posed for our group picture.

We currently live and operate in a technology dominant world. Computers and robots can now build cars, drive cars, fly planes, fight wars, manage money, read X-rays, diagnose diseases like cancer, and even perform sophisticated surgery. As more and more of our cognitive skills are getting robotic, these advances in technology are placing a premium on human interactions and authentic meaningful connections and relationships. The need to be intentional to create time and space for meaningful social connections is vital.

As I reflect on how our lives have changed as technology has advanced, the image of many workplaces come to mind. The work rooms with cubbies with individual computers, the people with headphones or ear buds clicking away on the keyboards as they complete their work whether that is charting on the EHR or other administrative and clinical tasks.

I am so grateful that they opted for an in-person reunion rather than a virtual one. The joy of seeing their smiles, laughing together, hugging each other, recollecting times both joyful and challenging was an experience that I realized I missed. Young children running around chasing each other reminded me of my young granddaughters and the joy that innocent childhood brings.

As we recollected our times together aided by a PowerPoint presentation with pictures from past years together, strengthened our emotional bonds and celebrated our valued relationships, the experience was both comforting and exhilarating. As the slideshow played, interrupted by recollections of episodes prompted by the slide, I reflected on our journey and time together. I celebrated how far each one had come, beyond their educational journey.

The experience for me was one of pure joy, both humbling and empowering. Our time together provided the much-needed platform to strengthen our already strong bond, our shared history, and our mutual trust. Our time together provided us with the community we needed, the sense of belonging, a reconnection that was a morale boost and a source of comfort and pride.

The PowerPoint was titled Job we met (which means “when we met”) after a Bollywood movie and ended with the words phir milenge, for “when we meet again,” an affirmation that we will continue these reunions, a commitment to meet in November 2025. I have happy thoughts we will!

REFLECT: When have you reconnected with loved ones? Who would you like to get together with next? What changes and shared memories would you celebrate?