Dan Watkin
Tessa, Dan and Jeremy Watkin. Havana 2007
Life has been a fascinating journey as I'm sure you have all experienced. May it continue to be so.
Reading some of your profiles has whetted my appetite for a proposed reunion. My recollections of those years are vague;preoccupied with athletics and social endeavours! This orientation continued through most of my undergraduate years at McGill.
Upon graduation in sociology/psychology I headed off on a 2 year hiatus though Europe, Middle East,and Asia, in pursuit of that elusive SELF. Deciding that medicine could potentially be an avenue of multifaceted interest, I returned to North America and experienced various health-related activities including: "orderly" in Hamilton, drug abuse counsellor in Ottawa, and surgeon's assisstant in a private clinic in Austin Texas. After being rejected from the McMaster med school (my only option given my lack of science prerequisites), I decided to continue my nomadic ways and study (which up to that point hadn't been one of my stronger charaacteristics!!!) medicine in France, which I did for the next 7 wonderful years. I returned to McGill to complete the Family Medicine program, met my eventual wife Tessa, and began "working" as a rural GP at the ripe age of 40!
Tessa joined me in Maniwaki where we spent 5 fulfilling years working in both the French Canadian and Aboriginal communities. Planning on a family, Maniwaki wasn't our 1st (nor 23rd!) choice. After a process of elimination we settled on the Collingwood area which is 1-1/2 hrs north of Toronto. We purchased our "dream" property; 100 acre farm on the Niagara escarpment, and our son Jeremy joined us in 1992.
We alternated work and parental days after 3 months of Jeremy's birth—infancy was one of the most challenging times of my Life!!!
Presently we continue our medical practices of 1/2 days each. We have both stopped doing ER shifts. Tessa contiues to enjoy obstetrics.
Jeremy is in boarding school in Toronto and loving the experience. We spend all weekends together and, at 16, he is beginning to manifest his independence, which is great.
Our interests include various outdoor activities, book club, Rotary Club, 13 pet goats, travel, music (we're about to go and spend 5 days at the Havana Jazz Festival), and cultural trips to Toronto.
Obviously, there have been challenging episodes along the way. However,at this moment things are flowing nicely. Look forward to future communication.
Dan(ny)