After 34 years of working in the field of pediatrics as a physician assistant, I've chosen 2005 to retire. My career has taken me into the lives of a second generation of children whose parents I remember as newborns those 30 plus years ago.

I never would have dreamed as a senior in high school, that my life would follow this path. My father was an accountant, whose dreams for his son were to join him as a partner in his firm. One year of business courses in college cried out loud and clear that balance sheets and tax returns were not what I had in mind as a career. A twist of fate lead me to the medical corps of the U.S. Army, and somehow I knew that medicine would be the career path that I would follow.

As I look back to all the twists, turns, and forks in the road, I'm so glad that I was able to work for a couple of years with emotionally disturbed children in a locked pediatric psychiatric hospital. It was there that I realized that I had a connection with kids and when the opportunity arose for me to become a physician assistant, my choice of specialized study could only be pediatrics.
 
I feel so fortunate to have been accepted into so many of your lives. It'll be very difficult to say goodbye. It reminds me of a scene from one of my most favorite movies, “Dances with Wolves.” Kevin Costner, who played the part of Dances with Wolves, was saying goodbye to his Indian friend, Kicking Bird. The hearts of both men were breaking as they stood facing each other. Kicking Bird said, "We've come a long way you and I!" The same is true for us. Some of us have shared our lives for over 30 years while for others it's been far less. The content of what we've shared is what makes it so special no matter how long.
 
Retirement is often referred to as the "golden years" and while the phrase implies a sunset, I see it as a sunrise. My wife and I are in the process of building a home on the land that she grew up on and inherited from her mother several years ago in northwest Wisconsin. We hope to move by early summer. We refer to our place as “the farm” and this past summer built a small “barn” that will be my woodshop and serve as the one building that makes the place a “farm.” I want to create more time to spend with my grandchildren and pursuing my other favorite pastime which is fishing.
 
Thank you all again for trusting me to care for your precious children and listening to and accepting the advice I've shared to help guide them and you into healthy adulthood.

“We've come a long way you and I.”

—Robert Freeman, PA-C