DRS. SUSAN and JOHN E. DEES
the home," suggested Grufferman,
assistant professor of community
health sciences and pediatrics and
director of epidemiology at the
Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"We have different chores that
we've worked out over the last eight
years," said Kimm, assistant
professor of pediatrics and
community health sciences.
Cooperative Housekeeping
Housekeeping is a cooperative
venture for the Osterhouts too. "The
kids (ages 15, 13 and 12) like to work
in the garden and help with the
chores — interesting chores like
welding pipes that I don’t know
anything about," said Syd, who is
professor of microbiology, associate
professor of medicine and associate
dean for medical school admissions.
Although they have a household
helper, her duties are limited. "She's
there so the children never have to
come home to an empty house,"
Shirley Osterhout said. "When
they're sick, she's the person who
stays with them all day. She will help
transport the kids to activities, do
laundry and start a roast so we won't
have to eat dinner at midnight, but
she's really a babysitter."
A Third Parent
"Instead of a big fancy car, we
have a housekeeper who's willing to
chaffeur the kids (ages 13 and 9)
around,” commented Robert
Gutman, associate professor of
medicine and chief of the
nephrology section at the VA
Hospital. "We look at this person as a
third parent."
"She does the cleaning, but her
major responsibility is to help the
children and be a good influence,"
Laura added.
. "You can't very well have a family
and not have a substitute mother,"
said Susan Dees, whose four
children are grown now. She and
Laura Gutman were able to work
part-time when their children were
very young.
"The nice thing about being
2
doctors is that you're pretty much
your own boss," Shirley Osterhout
said. "If you have work to do, you
can come in on weekends or even
take it home. When emergencies do
come up, one of us can get off.
Car Pools and Dancing Lessons
"Some young mothers have said to
me that they're thinking of going
back to school when their youngest
child is in school and won't need
them so much," Shirley said. "But
kids' demands on you increase.
When they're three, they need love
and affection. When they're six, they
need car pools and dancing lessons.
"As they get older," she said,
"they also know the hours of the day
and are aware of how you spend
them. We feel an obligation to curtail
our own social activities to be with
the children."
Social lives and vacation
scheduling suffer from the burden of
professional commitments, all the
couples agreed, but they do find time
for hobbies and shared activities.
Shared interests in travel and local
crafts are "what made us become
buddies," Kimm said.
Terrible Wanderlust
"I guess we have a terrible
wanderlust," Grufferman agreed.
While he was in the Air Force, they
traveled to numerous countries in
Asia and Africa. And everywhere
they went, they collected
"ethnographic artifacts" such as
pottery, woodblock prints, fabrics
and dolls. While students at Harvard
they "prowled the antique shops and
museums" in New England, he said.
'The standing joke is 'Why don't
you buy that? It would look so
beautiful in storage,"' Kimm said.
Travel, including an African safari,
attracts the Deeses too, but their
favorite spot is their summer cottage
on the North Carolina coast.
On their 50-acre tree farm, Harris,
who is J. Buren Sidbury professor of
pediatrics and professor of
biochemistry, and Hijmans, assistant
professor of medicine, train four
Siberian huskies, one of them a
champion, and enjoy rifle target
practice.
Chandeliers, Clocks, and Cars
He is a handyman, repairing all
sorts of things from old chandeliers
and clocks to cars, while she is a
collector of stamps and coins and a
musician, playing piano and
accordion.
The McCartys share many
common hobbies such as marine
aquariums, chess and photography,
but they call themselves
"workaholics."
"It's an advantage being married
to another doctor so your spouse
understands that medicine is
something you do 24 hours a day,"
Ken said.
"Medicine is a very important part
of one's life," Harris commented.
"Sometimes you have to change your
plans at the last minute or go out to
work at night. Since we both have
the same orientation, it makes it a
little easier."
Same Instincts
Having two medical careers in the
family also "makes talk easy," Robert
Gutman said. "We both have the
same set of instincts, needs and
reactions."
In addition similar professional
interests allow the couples to justify
traveling together to medical
meetings.
Although most do not collaborate
on research, they do help each other
in discussing subjects and editing
professional papers.
A Personal Consultant
"By having related but not
identical interests, we pick up a
broader perspective," Grufferman
said. "It's like having a personal
consultant."
Being married to another
physician has other advantages too,
he said. "For two people, we need
only one set of journals and
textbooks. When we were students,
we studied together. We took carbon
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