Money Doesn’t Make Everything Perfect

By; Jacob Mazyck

While they are certain gains to being wealthy not everything is perfect

and easily manageable. Some people often assume someone with a high

paying job isn’t affected by the struggles of the average person or that

they don’t work hard for their wealth. This Photo Essay will examine the

life of Colonel Beth Mazyck MD and what it’s like to go through an average

week. This Photo essay is designed to highlight the long hours Beth puts

in, her commitment to staying humble, the importance of family, but most

importantly how at the end of the day she’s just like any other person.

A house sits alone in the darkness

with nothing but one light on. This

wasn’t an unfamiliar sight at the

Mazyck household. With late

working hours and long commute

getting back home before it gets

dark can be very challenging.

Finding time for driving around kids

for sports and other activities also

was not easy and when a kid got

sick at school it was a nightmare.

At the beginning of every day Beth

wakes up to this painting to remind her

of what matters most family. This

painting which was handed down to

Beth from her mother who received it

from her mother has hung in the same

spot for over 18 years right outside of

her bedroom door. It’s a reminder that

even when her children grow up they’ll

always be her children just in the same

that she’ll always be her mothers child.

Beth Mazyck reviews her patients

online medical history before

meeting with them to refresh her

memory to be more personable.

With over one hundred patients

between her job in Boston and

Worcester it’s hard to remember

every detail. But she feels doing

everything she can to be a trusting

caring is what being a doctor is all

about.

It’s 5:50 AM on a Sunday

mourning and while most people

would be sleeping right now

Beth is getting up to start her

day. To Beth 6:00 is sleeping in

due to her daily schedule over

the week of waking up at 5:30

for her two hour commute to

her job in Boston. However

today she’s waking up for a

much different reason.

It’s 6:30 PM of the same day

and Beth is arriving home

from a long day at Fort Devens

where she is a Colonel for the

Army Reserves. One or two

weekends per month Beth is

required to report to Fort

Devens. Beth is also required

to go on one three month tour

every three or four years.

This is the original ticket for Beth’s

flight to Texas where she would

receive two weeks of training

before she would go to Iraq for

three months. When people

would ask her about the trip

before hand she mainly thought

about her young children. “A lot of

people asked me if I was nervous

going to Iraq, but I was more

concerned with leaving my

children for so long.”

Here Beth can is putting in caulking

for the new tile in her bathroom.

“If we (the Mazyck family) can do it

with relative ease why should we

pay someone else to do it for us?

Who cares if it’s perfect.” This is

something Beth firmly believes in

and being from a family of

craftsmen and engineers she has

no problem rolling back her sleeves

and getting a little work done.

At the same time though Beth

is a regular person who needs

to relax. She is laying on the

couch wrapped up in her

favorite fuzzy blanket and

watching TV after a long day at

work. Yellow flowers have

always been a favorite of Beth’s

so anytime she get’s a chance

she likes to get a fresh bouquet.

On her husbands 60th birthday Beth got her entire immediate family which includes her five sons,

their significant others, one daughter, and six grandchildren. Most of the family doesn’t live close

with one of the sons living as far as California. It’s moments like these when everyone can come

together that makes everything worth it for Beth. She’s worked hard for over 30 years to earn the

life she has and she wouldn’t trade it for the world.