YEAR ONE & DONE (RESIDENCY)

[taken last August during this visit from his family]

Since last year I wrote a quick residency update, I thought it appropriate to celebrate the one year mark of this journey. In June, Derek became a 2nd year resident and graduated from the intern program through Scripps. Rather then participating in all fields of medicine (radiology, ER, OB/GYN, general surgery, pediatrics) and podiatry, this year, he is only working on feet. He is absolutely loving it! He is doing more and more surgical cases on his own, seeing his own patients, and becoming more independent within the healthcare systems for both Scripps and Kaiser. Yes, the hours are still killer. I don't expect him home earlier then 9:00 most nights, and it's a rare occasion when no add-on cases are scheduled and we can spend an evening together. Luckily, with the addition of four new interns, his weekend and holiday call schedules for the year haven't been too demanding. We enjoy two weekends a month to play, and explore our beloved San Diego. We have been able to enjoy our summer trips to the beach and taking some time off before he becomes a slave to Scripps Mercy for the Fall. In the end, we will look back on our residency years and miss it, just like I sometimes miss our years being in medical school. I have loved every stage of life we have been in together these last four years. From our cheap little date nights in medical school, too the cold winters in Michigan being snowed in, to today, where the hours may be long, but there is always time for a beach trip every few weeks. There is always time, you just need to find it!

WHILE I EAT TURKEY, HE DELIVERS BABIES

The past three years, Derek has worked the full Thanksgiving "weekend". It's something I think a lot of wives, families, and children look forward to each year--- having their loved ones home for the holiday. For me, it just makes me more thankful for this guy. I knew long before the medical life started that holidays, heck, even Saturdays would be far from normal in our house. These are still "work" days for people in the medical profession. Derek started (his only) 2 week OB/GYN rotation this past Monday and was told to work on Thanksgiving. When he texted to tell me that he would be working that day, my response was something I have gotten very used to saying, "I figured! We can always eat leftovers at midnight!" So while I get my first round of turkey, sweet potatoes, and stuffing (Can we side track here and say that stuffing is literally manna from heaven? Okay, thanks.), this boy will be helping little turkey day babies be brought into the world. Which, is pretty dang cool if you ask me.

THE THIRD WHEEL

Something Derek and I have been very good at is always having a Saturday night date. Sometimes it's jammies and movies. Other times it's a night on the town. Sometimes, it's as simple and special as a trip to the temple. On weekends Derek is on call however, that pager from circa 1999 gets to tag along. Sometimes, it doesn't make a beep. Other times, we have just been seated for dinner and that loud, high pitched, beep, Beep, BEEP, starts going. If you ever want a full dining room of people to stop what they are doing and just stare at you, have a pager go off. After that page, it's straight to the phone and computer to read x-rays, patient medical records, and for Derek to pre-assess the patient. Last night, we were at a friends house for dinner and the pager went off. Derek thanked our friends, and was up and out the door for an emergency surgery. (That man. He is the BEST.) So, although our third wheel is just a pager, man, he sure makes an impact on a night. 

MONTH ONE & DONE (RESIDENCY)

Well, we did it. We made it through the first month of residency-- on call, middle of the night pages, and busy days and nights. Besides the major lack of sleep (on both parts), Derek is learning a lot and operating even more. With him working between 13-15 hours a day, and me juggling my work schedule, church, house hold duties, and such, we have been keeping super busy. Our TV has rarely been turned on, and at night we have been enjoying late dinners while talking about our days. Derek was recently e-mailed an article about the high divorce rate of medical residents, because of the hectic schedules they keep. It was quite an interesting read, and even more so since Podiatrists have one of the lowest divorce rates among US careers. I think the most important thing to remember in this phase in our life, just like when Derek was in school & doing clerkships, is to cherish the time we have together.  Even if it's just a quick little trip down to the corner store for an ice cream, a swim in the pool, or a full Saturday spent at the beach. I also try very hard to get all housekeeping (cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, errands) done during the week after work to leave our Saturdays-if Derek not on call-open. I honestly can't think of anything more painful the fighting crowds at Costco, Target, & Trader Joe's on a Saturday. I guess you could say it's almost as painful as trying to get Derek to smile for a picture. 

Five Things {Graduation Edition}

{first scene pulling in from New Mexico & into the hot desert}

So we don't overload this blog with too many photos of Derek's medical school graduation {because I easily could}, here are our five favorite moments from the weekend. From the ceremony to floating the lazy river with pina coladas in hand, we sure enjoyed our last real visit to the state we spent so much of our  engaged & married life in. Man, oh man, Arizona is always going to be one of those places for me.

{before the ceremony, last time Derek would be a "student"}

{please see any of these fantastic doctors for your below the knee needs}

{the gang celebrating the big accomplishment}

{the doctoral hood; Derek also wore two cords for graduating Pi Delta with honors}

Doctor Smith

He did it & we're both so happy. 

Residency Match Day

Today was match day & we were anxious. 11:00 am rolled around and we logged in and saw our match. 

We're excited, happy, & grateful.
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P.S. Derek and I met 4 years ago today. You can read about that here.