I love Thanksgiving, a holiday that places community right at its center. For years before I became a Hawkeye, I sent a message out to my division members each year just before Thanksgiving. I talked about what I have been thankful for, what we had achieved together, the challenges we faced, and what I was looking forward to. It is a nice bit of coincidence that this channel was already open when I got here so my annual tradition gets to continue. First, I have to acknowledge and thank those members of our health care team who are spending any time this week away from family and friends, while caring for people whose illness requires them to also be away from family and friends. Thank you to everyone working this week. You are giving a gift to others whose pain may be sharper because it is Thanksgiving and they are spending it in a hospital bed instead.

My own personal gratitude list always places my family in the top spot. I am so grateful for my husband and my children, and I hope that at some point this week, each of you can take time to rest in the comfort of your family, which can take many forms. Some families are combinations of relatives by blood or marriage, others can be entirely composed of people we have chosen. But each of us needs the break and the restoration that members of our tightest-knit communities provide. Thanksgiving is an excellent time to recognize and celebrate their presence in your life just as they value yours in theirs.

My kids are often—but not always!—willing to indulge my ideas for a photo. This one on a Hawaiian beach is a good memory from what is now an unbelievable seven years ago. That quick slippage in time makes me want to hang onto moments with them a little more tightly. The heart shape they are forming reminds me how important it is to keep love at the center of everything I do. It was a love for discovery that first opened the doors to research for me. It was a love of helping people feel better that drew me to medicine. It was a love of teamwork and collaboration, of solving problems that were bigger than just I could solve, that pulled me into administration and leadership. I try to keep those loves at the beginning and end of every day, especially the long ones.

Here’s an experiment. Turn to your neighbor at a clinic workstation or a fellow researcher at the bench behind you and ask them what drew them to a career at an academic medical center. I bet it would not take long into each story before we all landed on the same or similar words. “Well, I always really loved [blank]” or “I felt this spark light inside when [blank] happened” or “Someone important to me told me that I had a talent for [blank] and that felt good and right.” Each of those or something similar contains a central idea, love. Maybe you call it “passion,” but that is just a more motivating love. The reason that love is common among us is because a career in medicine is maybe the most purpose-driven career choice. Perhaps our closest competitor is in the realm of education. Combine the two and you have all of us here at an academic medical center.

That is the idea I return to when things feel heavy. How many people get to devote such a major portion of their lives to doing something that they love? And not only that, but they then get to surround themselves with other people who are similarly devoted. I have to remember my good fortune, that I get to apply my training and experience to a cause I love, a cause I believe I can positively affect. For me, that is something to be deeply thankful for. I hope you feel the same.

There will be plenty of time for me to detail our collective successes and opportunities at next month’s department update on December 19 at noon, held in place of our regular Grand Rounds. It will be a nice way to close out the year in a sort of mini-State of the Department address, but I plan to make these sessions a more regular event. I hope you will attend, and please feel free to bring questions. Until then, my sincere thanks to you for all that you give every day to our shared passion, our wonderful community, and to your own well-being and growth. Happy Thanksgiving!