Hi Reader

Dad Joke: What do you call a fish wearing a bow-tie? So-fish-ticated

Song of the Week: The Gambler by Kenny Rogers​

I still remember the smell of sawdust mixed with smoke, the lights flickering overhead and the beat of the music as it washed over me. I couldn’t have been more than 7 years old, and it was the coolest place I had ever been to.

My dad is a lifelong country music fan, and he had taken us to watch Lance James play live. Lance was a good ol’ South African country legend and although I don’t remember what songs his band played or what he said from the stage… I do remember how I felt…electrified.

But the moment I remember most didn’t come from the stage or the music or even Lance himself…it came from a 5 second encounter that lasted a lifetime. My dad and I were walking down corridor (I have no idea why or where we were going) and we bumped into the guitar player. I remember my dad recognizing him and them shaking hands and then I remember him looking at me, tousling my hair and saying “who knows, maybe one day you will play guitar just like me…”

I don’t know what juju it takes to get a message to stuck in the head of a 7-year-old boy but it was all there that night. My brain somehow took a perfect snapshot of him, the corridor, my dad and I and whatever neuroplasticity I had on the go let that message in loud and clear. I have played guitar now for well over 35 years.

The thing is, looking back on it now, to anyone not inside my 7-year-old brain, that moment had no particular significance. I will bet you everything that that guitarist forgot about me 2 minutes later and never gave any of it a second thought.

I wonder how many of those moments you have been part of for children in your office that you have absolutely no idea have hit that hard. How many core memories have you been part of creating that lurk in the backs of minds as they grow?

We are so privileged to be in the position we are in. Working with developing minds and being part of their growth journey…

But how much more thought would you put into your chat in the office if you KNEW that this was a moment they would remember?

Chat soon

Mike (Lifelong guitar fanatic)

P.S. 10 points if you recognize the person in the top right corner!

Here's a list dates for my upcoming seminars:

• 26 & 27 April 2025 - Management of the Neonate, Chester, UK (2 spaces left)
• 7 & 8 June 2025 - Common Infant Conditions, Chester, UK
• 6 & 7 Sept 2025 - Paeds in Motion Part 1 (The Young Child) Wales, UK (bookings with michellebushell3@hotmail.co.uk for Wales.)

​​​​

info@connectedpaediatrics.com
You can Unsubscribe from Connected Paediatrics Weekly newsletter here.

Connected Paediatrics – Dr Mike Marinus is a registered paediatric chiropractor treating babies and children and helping chiropractors learn effective paediatric techniques that they can use in their practice

​