MEETING GRANDMA COOKIE FILLING THE OFFICE WITH SWEETNESS Everyone who’s come into our Beaumont office knows Pat Takacs as Grandma Cookie, a name given to her by one of her granddaughters, and wisely so. Pat provides the office with a fresh batch of cookies every morning. “Patients always tease me that they keep coming back because of my cookies,” Pat says with a laugh. Pat is Dr. Takacs’ mother, and she has been assisting Beaumont Family Dentistry since day one. At first, Pat would visit every now and then, helping wherever she could, but she eventually moved to Beaumont and started working full time at the office. She continues to do whatever she can for the office, the patients, the dentists, and the entire team. “I don’t know what you’d call me. I’m the master of all things, I suppose,” Pat says with a laugh. “I write weekly birthday cards to our patients, I send out ‘Welcome to the Office’ cards for all of our new patients, and I send thank you cards for patients who might have referred someone to us. If I see a patient who’s been sitting in the reception room for a while, I’ll go out and sit with them just to keep them company. I also call patients to check in with them after they’ve had surgery, just to see how they’re doing. I’ve always enjoyed reaching out to patients and helping with the important things that our busy team might not have the chance to.” When it comes to her favorite part about working here, she says she doesn’t have a favorite. “I don’t have a ‘best part’ because it’s all wonderful. It’s nice to work with everyone and have the chance to see family so often. We don’t actually have much time to chat while we’re at work, but knowing we’re all here is very reassuring.”
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LORI R.: A fun family tradition in my family is to spend a whole Saturday at the beginning of December baking Christmas cookies and candies with my mom, mother-in-law, kids, aunts, and nieces to share. As of last year, we have turned this tradition into a fun birthday celebration for my youngest daughter, Fyn, that we will continue for years! The Sunday after we’ve baked all of our goodies, we celebrate by sharing all of the cookies and candies from the day before with family and friends for her special December birthday! JOY D.: At Thanksgiving, we always host “Friendsgiving” and open our home to anyone we know who doesn’t have a place to spend the day. This started years ago because we weren’t from Lexington and didn’t have any family close by, so we cooked a big meal and waited to see who showed up at lunch time. I remember our first year here in Lexington, we had so many people show up that our small apartment dining room wouldn’t fit everyone. We turned our master bedroom into a dining room and rented long tables and chairs for the meal. There has rarely been a year where we didn’t have at least half a dozen people join us. Sometimes we’ve had family come from out of town, too, but most years, it’s just us, our children, and friends. It’s so much fun to share in my favorite holiday where the focus is on gratitude, things we are thankful for, and friendship. KIM M.: We get Chick-fil-A chocolate peppermint milkshakes and drive to see local Christmas lights. On Christmas night, it’s a tradition for me and my husband to go to Sir Pizza. KRYSTLE G.: Every Christmas, we spend time with family and try hard to keep the “magical feeling” in the air. My favorite tradition is watching my daughter on Christmas morning. She wakes up and runs to see the leftover cookie crumbs that Santa has left on the plate, then outside to see the trail of carrots the reindeer tend to drop as they fly away leading the sled. Santa even leaves her a letter, thanking her for the milk and cookies, along with the hoof print signature from the reindeers. No matter how old we all are, we still keep the spirit of Christmas alive and remember that the day is about the birth of Jesus Christ. CANDI K.: We hide a pickle ornament in the tree and whoever finds it without touching the tree gets a special gift and hides the pickle next year. We have been doing this since my daughter was little, and we continue this tradition even though she is 28 years old now. We also have another tradition at my dad’s house. We have these small ball ornaments that snap open and closed. Everyone writes a secret Christmas wish and puts them inside. The next year, we pass them out and try to guess whose wish was whose and see if it came true. It’s the little things like this that bring us closer. CHARISSA G.: We attend Christmas Eve church service together with both my parents and my in-laws and also participate in the ornament exchange every year with Beaumont Family Dentistry at Leestown coworkers. We go see Santa at Joseph Beth with my kids’ best friends every year. We like to compare how the kids have grown year after year, and this year, we will have a new baby to add to the group photo. My mom also always gives us a chocolate orange in our stockings. LIZ M.: Being Italian-Catholic, we do not eat meat on Christmas Eve. Therefore, Christmas Eve dinner consists of a variety of homemade pasta dishes and seafood, including spaghetti with marinara sauce, garlic butter noodles, baked mostaccioli, and crab legs. A lot of crab legs!
Having the opportunity to watch as her family grows not only in size but also within the business is something Pat is very proud to be a part of. “What else can I say?” She asks. “My dad was a dentist, as well, and I came to respect this field by working with him through high school. Dentistry is so much different now; my dad would be awed by what it’s become. I’m very proud of my family for pursuing this line of work because, boy, oh boy, it’s absolutely amazing.”
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