Written By Michael Moore, PT
November is Thanksgiving month, my favorite holiday. The reason Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday is because of a long history of family gatherings at my aunt and uncle’s house in San Francisco. My cousins of whom there are 9 plus my four siblings and myself were together for fun, great food, and an overnight stay at their house.
As time has gone by, my wife, Lynn, has hosted my side of the family for more than two decades. This gathering can number into the low 40s, but this year it is in the mid 30s. Again, it is a family gathering, great food, and it lasts over a few days. Usually Wednesday night for people that are arriving from out of town as well as us locals, there is a low key gathering for something informal like pizza. Thursday is the big bash and on Friday different groups may have got together for socializing throughout the day and then everybody returns to our house for leftovers. Another reason I like Thanksgiving so much is because there is not a whole lot of craziness put into decorations nor pressure and stress in gift giving. Part of the positive feelings are because of the central theme and it is a theme that all human beings can relate to. That theme is being thankful for whatever gifts and blessings you have.
For me, I am really really grateful for my faith in the gifts I believe have come from God and that includes the family that I was born into. I am grateful for my wife of nearly 49 years and our four grown married children and their loving spouses. And I am very grateful for 12 grandchildren that all live nearby except for our US Marine stationed on the east coast.
I am so very grateful for Folsom PT now in its 42nd year of operation. That operation would not be possible without my loyal partner, Tim McGonigle. The trust we are blessed to share between one another is a quality that I consider priceless. His vision as well as generosity are wonderful gifts.
I told Brandi and Victoria this week that it is such a pleasure to come to work each day and be with them plus our newest office team member, Drew. They consistently have a positive upbeat attitude. Whatever stresses are in each of their lives outside of work, they do not seem to come to work with those stresses. They conduct themselves with a professional attitude throughout each day.
Kate Check, our chief of operations, has been a major blessing to my life and the business. Her ability to decipher contracts, review a host of insurance policies the business must have, navigate through Covid, develop our website, and most recently processing our business to become officially incorporated are tasks which have been entrusted to her by Tim and myself. They were all necessary tasks and I cannot imagine trying to tackle any one of them myself.
God has been good to us by blessing us with physical therapists who possess the most important characteristic a PT should have and that characteristic is wanting to help people. Tim and I as owners of Folsom PT are unable to compete with salaries with the big healthcare systems like Dignity, Sutter, UCD Health or Kaiser. But we do provide a stimulating opportunity to learn optimal PT skills and a work demand that allows these therapists to have a schedule to implement their higher level of skills. I am grateful for the dedication of Kristen, Brigit, Logan, and Aviel who have chosen FPT as their workplace to make their careers.
Finally, I am grateful to the FPT community of both past and present patients who have entrusted their physical therapy care to us. There are different places to get PT, but we are grateful you have chosen us as your PT provider. We are especially grateful for the exercise community of both the independent gym users as well as the group exercise community. As different groups, you all contribute a very positive energy that is a two-way energizing force to one another as well as to the PT’s and office people. You welcome newcomers enthusiastically and encourage one another in the building and sometimes beyond the building. There are some of you that have been in attendance for 20-30 years. For all of you, we give thanks.
Now with the many gatherings that might take place around Thanksgiving as well as all of those pre-Christmas parties that occur before Christmas and then the actual Christmas day followed by New Years, 2026, we know there is a significant percentage of people that can be stressed out this time of year. Some are stressed out shopping. Others are stressed out gathering with certain family members with whom you disagree. The well-known and respected Tim McGonigle would remind people as their busy seasons approach, to pace oneself. If you have been in the recovery stage of a spinal injury or have a bad hip or knee, you must remember these types of pathologies do better if you take breaks in the day by going horizontal to gravity. In other words, lie down.
Another key component to managing these potentially stressful holidays is to delegate components of meals or set up tasks to various attendees. Most guests like the feeling of making some contribution to large group gatherings. Finally, when you go horizontal, close your eyes and feel the air flow through your nostrils and be grateful to God if you are a person of faith. If you are a non-believer, any of us can reflect on those gifts you have in your life that make you who you are and the legacy by which you would like to be known.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
