For those of you who are not familiar, C is a medical resident embarking on his 7th and final year of residency. He started this long journey over 13 years ago when our oldest son was born. Having been a banker for a number of years, he decided to go to med school. The last 13 years of training looked something like this:
1 year of research and applying to medical schools
4 years of medical school
7 years of residency
[I remember discussing with C, early on in his medical shcool training, what he might consider specializing in. The conversation ended with me asking what specialty had the longest residency program. When he told me neurosurgery, 7 years, I told him that was what he was going to choose. I was right.]
peppered with 2 major periods of uncertainty:
1) medical school acceptance - Northwestern, which luckily did not require us to move as we were living in Chicago at the time.
2) residency match - an arcane process where the students rank their choices for residency whilst the schools rank their choices of students. Students literally find out where they are going just months from when they need to begin. As you can imagine, this is hard on families. After learning we were going to Brown, I remember sitting for a quiet moment outside the Dean's office. Rhode Island...where the heck is Rhode Island? Chris had to pull up a map and show me exactily where we'd be spending the next 7 years.
and
90 + hour work weeks, overnight calls, tight budgets, and knowing we'd likely be moving the family again!!
So, here we are. The light at the end of the tunnel, which used to be a pinhole, is now the size of a quarter. The gamble is about to payoff.
Our lives have been mostly dictated by this whole process. Not much choice, other than the initial choice of going down this path. It's all the boys have ever known. It's about all that I can bare. We both agreed that it is surreal to think that we are finally nearing the end of this long journey. My "one moment" this week was trying to let reality sink in and breath a sigh of relief for the future.
What was your 'one moment' this week? What took you out of your present moment and made you pause, pinch yourself, smile? Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below) or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter, I've started a hash tag - #OMmeetup so that we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!
To learn more about this weekly post, OM [one moment] meetup, please see the original post here.
Wow! I love hearing about a couple that supports each other so fully in their dreams. I hope that your new digs are exactly what you've been waiting for... here or elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnd if Reno is a top contender, I have a friend who can share information... just let me know!
Oh Linda, I'm so happy the light is finally beginning to shine bright at the end of the tunnel! Although Andrew & I didn't become a pair until after he'd been through grad school, I too have had to embrace the lifestyle of an academic who's climbing his way up the ladder. reinventing one's self at each stop along the husband's career path can get old, but I (and you as well I'm sure) have been able to establish a network at each stop along the way (and may I say, your hubby's path includes some awesome stops - woot! Color me impressed!) And how funny your residency conversation came back to bite you! I hope your next transition is to an awesome place, one that you and your boys can settle into quickly and happily!
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful that you are almost there! My husband only went through 3 years of law school and I thought that was trying! I can't imagine 13+. Enjoy your new reality!
ReplyDeleteI admire the devotion and dedication it took on both your parts to get to this point - clearly no small feat! I am going to be kicking into high gear b/c M is at the point where he is ready to make a break from academia. But the benefits....aaaaahhhhh! Hope the next leg of your journey holds nothing but good things for you!
ReplyDeleteWow I am so impressed with you guys as a couple and a family! My husband would love to play 52 card pickup with his career but at 57 and with my medical problems... well we're just not that big a gamblers. Bravo to you guys, we salute you for making the dream come true! My moment is much smaller and quieter. We've been on vacation this week in Florida, just me, the hubs, and our 2 grown kids (both in their 20's). I feel so lucky that our children really like us as people, not just parents. We're trying to take advantage of the time we have before we need to consider their spouses. I know someday soon they'll find people they love and we'll welcome them into the fold with open arms but right now we're selfishly soaking up the time we have with just them! Lucky me, lucky mom that at 54 my kids still think I'm the diggity bomb!
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone! It's gonna be an interesting year. I'll need to lean on all my blog friends to help me through it!
ReplyDeleteokay, so, i am not just saying this to suck up, but this week YOU were my OM. Because, I had discovered your blog via Mark Kaplan, who discovered me via Regretsy, and I'd visited here once before and liked the design. this time i came back and read. and read and read and read.
ReplyDeletei like you. i like your stuff. i like the fact that OM is a virtual meet-up, which i can actually make! i like the way you've so lightly and kindly described what must have been a really hard decade-plus and so, um, well...i just sit quietly here and think what a gift human consciousness can be, in the right hands. like craft.
(ommmmm)
Wow, your comment made my evening! Thank you. I second guess myself all the time and in every way. There are days when I think I'm the only one reading my blog. Like everyone, I want what I write or feature to have meaning to someone other than myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I do believe that sucking up has a place in this world. Suck ups are always welcome here!!