decision. Listening to each other’s concerns, I would say, that’s been the biggest thing.
their personalities could not be more differ- ent. Even though they share the same birth- day, they’re very different children. The first one, she was really easygoing and easy to take care of. She likes to follow the rules. The second one, not so much. She’s fun though. She’s quick-witted. She’s a little athlete. But, you definitely have to be patient. Especially me being an older parent now, having pa- tience as times change has been one of the things that’s been really important. ARE THERE ANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF AS A DAD? JAMES: My oldest decided to follow in my footsteps and become a doctor. I’m pretty proud of that. She’s a remarkable student. She’s done everything that we’ve asked her or encouraged her to do throughout her academic career. She’s a rising second-year medical student right now. She wants to be a psychiatrist, which is a little bit different from me, but the fact that she chose to go into medicine even after seeing me out of the house a lot, even after seeing me sometimes deciding to prioritize work over family, even after seeing all of that, she still is planning to go into medicine. I’m proud of the fact that even though to me it seems like my busy
schedule would have been off-putting, it still inspired her to have a career in medicine.
ARE THERE ANY FAMILY OR WEEKEND RITUALS THAT YOU REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO?
WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR DAUGHTERS REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GROWING UP WITH YOU AS THEIR FATHER? JAMES: I hope they remember that I spent time with them whenever I could. I try very hard to be present in their lives. I try to be a confidant that they can talk to when things are hard. Sometimes I need to work on my patience. I want to be able to be someone who they can always talk to even when the situation is difficult. So that would be it: always have time for them and always be someone who they can talk to even when it's hard. RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS Favorite spot for date night… any place where we can sit down and have a conversation. One word that best describes your family… classic. Favorite food… a good eight-plus- ounce filet. Hidden talent… playing the violin.
JAMES: The thing that we look forward to the most on weekends, if we don’t have soft- ball, is just sitting around the house or sitting by the pool listening to music and talking. The best days for me are when I get a chance to grill something. YOU’VE WATCHED ONE DAUGHTER BEGIN MEDICAL SCHOOL AND ANOTHER IS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL. WHAT HAS PARENTING CHILDREN IN SUCH DIFFERENT STAGES OF LIFE TAUGHT YOU? JAMES: To be honest with you, these two girls are growing up almost as an only child in the household. They overlapped at home for a couple of years, but it was pretty brief. My oldest, when she was 16 and the little one was four, went to a boarding school in North Carolina, similar to the Louisiana School for Science and Math. From there, she went on to college, so the little one has been kind of an only child since she was four. It’s been a different experience raising the two girls, and
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