Match day has come and gone and I can still hardly believe
it. I feel like I have been holding my
breath for so dang long! And now that I
can finally come up for air I’m not sure I even remember how!
We will be living in MAINE….for
the next FOUR years.
How can a person feel elated, relieved, terrified, and even
a little sad all at the same time? It’s definitely
a mixed bag of emotions!
ELATION
First of all I couldn’t be more excited for and proud of my
husband Jentry for matching into an Anesthesia Residency. He has worked so hard and sacrificed so much
to get to this point. He has grown and
matured so much in the past four years. I
have been so impressed by his tenacity and perseverance, especially this past
year. He deserves this 100%!
Second, how cool is it we are moving to MAINE! Woods, lakes, streams, beaches, hiking,
skiing, camping, canoeing, moose, loons, lobster, chocolate, flannel, boots…oh
WOWZERS…I feel like I am going to burst from the insides out! I just can’t wait to get there and start
exploring and adventuring!
RELIEF
I just want to clarify by saying that I never doubted Jentry
for a single second. I knew from the time
I first met him that he had so many qualities that would make him an amazing doctor.
But graduate medical education is not a
cake walk. Medical school has been so full of challenges, obstacles, uncertainties,
and anxieties; it was hard not to feel at times like the world was against us,
like The Man just wanted to keep us down and worst, like the system that is
supposed to be designed to serve us would fail! But now we get to breathe a little sigh of relief
before we take on the next round that life has to offer us!
TERROR
After we wound down a little from dancing around the
kitchen, texting our families, and facebooking the world, I hopped on the
computer to search the route from Phoenix to Portland. 2700 miles, 40 hours, and 12 states stand
between us and Portland. WHOA.
That is FAR. AWAY. Away from family, away from friends, and away
from everything I have ever known in my life. It would be and understatement to say that I
am a little overwhelmed at the prospect. But don’t worry, I only slip into COMPLETE PANIC
MODE about fifty hundred times each day!
SADNESS
As much as complain about Arizona, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t
going to miss it. Jentry and I came here
four years ago not knowing what to expect. We didn’t know how hard medical school was really
going to be. We didn't know how hot 120
degrees really felt. We didn’t know how
miserable it would be when it is still 100 degrees everyday in October. We didn’t know how much it sucks to fall in a
cactus when you are mountain biking. We
didn’t know how beautiful an Arizona
sunset could be. We didn’t know how
awesome it would be to be hiking, biking, and enjoying baseball games in 80
degree March days when the rest of the world is still in winter deep freeze. We didn’t know we would get to be a part of
the most incredible, amazing, and fun group of friends around. We didn’t know we would experience the sorrow
of miscarriage here. We didn’t know we
would have the joy of welcoming a sweet baby boy into our family here. These experiences have strengthened both of us
and caused us to grow closer to one another. Arizona
will always hold a special place in our hearts! And yes, I am a little sad to
be leaving!
So like a said, it’s a mixed bag. I guess that’s what keeps life interesting!
