Becoming Dr. Mumford III

Well, now that Nigel has (almost) finished med school, (Congratulations Nige!) it is good to know that his namesake will be following him down that long and arduous path. My prediction (and you can take this one to the bank) is that our son Nigel will become a doctor. How do I know this?

First, ever night his prayers go like this: “… and please bless the people with headaches, and backaches, and with infections, and with wounds and with cuts, and with scrapes…”

Second, his favorite bedtime story is our Readers Digest anatomy book (with color diagrams).

Third, we drove through the cemetery today on the way home from church to commemorate Memorial day. On the way home Nigel said, “Dad, I want to go back there some time when it is raining”.

Dad: Why is that?

Nigel: So we can see the bones.

Dad: What are you talking about?

Nigel: Zach told me that when it rained a lot at the seminary, all the dirt washed away and you could see all the bones.

Apparently Nigel had remembered Zach telling us about a cemetery where that really happened during hurricane Katrina. We told Nigel that that did not usually happen, but that we were going to Washington DC this summer and he can see bones at the museum. That has now become the main focus of the vacation for him: “I can’t wait to see those bones.”

A few weeks ago Julia’s friend was visiting and telling her about trouble she was having with her new baby’s diaper rash. Nigel came into the room and heard Julia suggest that it might be a yeast rash. He then offered, “Mom, there’s a new over the counter solution for yeast diaper rash.”

Last week Alex started complaining that he had asthma. Julia said, “No, Alex, it’s just seasonal allergies.” Nigel chimed in, “Hey Alex! Claritin clear!”

I must admit that these last two examples may be more of an indication that Nigel watches too much TV. Still, I think it is more than coincidence that it is the medical stuff that he remembers best.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago Julia looked out the window to see Nigel and his friend Katie, from next door, jumping around and having a great time on the trampoline … completely naked. Later, when we asked him why they did that, he got really defensive and said it was all Katie’s fault. Katie of course denied this and claimed that she was just following Nigel’s lead. And I’m sure that running around naked and blaming other people for one’s choices is somehow another indicator that this kid has an aptitude for the medical profession. We have always said that Nigel will be there to take care of us in our old age. Now we know how.