He's a Doctor

On May 12th, Doctor Derek became a DOCTOR!

When I first met Derek he told me he wanted to be a doctor.  Silly me, I thought to myself, what a glamorous life, he's a keeper :)  I ended up keeping him of course, but for more reasons than just that he would be a doctor some day.  Little did I know that being a doctor, or the wife of a doctor, or at least the road to becoming a doctor is far less than glamorous!  In fact, it is NOT glamorous at all!  We aren't at that "life of a doctor" stage yet, but I am guessing it won't be glamorous either. . .

You see. . .the first year you are in complete shock at what you just got yourself into.  Your husband has to study.  STUDY!  Life is study study study.  You are left at home with the kiddo who says gagagoogoo and makes messes all day long.  You clean them up, and then clean them up again, wondering when your husband will get home so you can have a normal conversation, only to wonder some more how long he will get to stay before he has to leave again to study even more.  And you still freak out when you plan on dinner at 6:00 and it's cold at 6:30 because he was finishing a practice test and forgot to call or didn't even know what time it was to begin with.  You start to run on auto pilot and forget you are best friends.  You wonder who in their right mind could possibly WANT to become a doctor.  I mean seriously?

By the time second year comes around you learn not to count on them to be there ever because they still study all the time, maybe even more than before.  You find friends and try to live life happily because that is the only way you survive. 

You get involved.  You serve.  You forget how hard medical school is on everybody and try to make it easier for somebody.  Even if that somebody is you.

You have play group.  Every week.  Sometimes you drop your kids off and get away.  But most of the time you stay and talk to someone who CAN talk to keep your brain functioning on an adult level.  And maybe. . .possibly. . .but only a little. . .probably a lot. . .complain about how hard medical school is :)

You have girls night every weekend.  Lots of painting toes and watching movies and eating candy and LOTS LOTS LOTS of talking and laughing.  Making friends for life.  The kind you don't have to see to know and love.  The kind you can just start up with again after not seeing them for a year.

You have dinner parties.  And often.  The guys talk about school and the girls make fun of the guys for always talking about school.  And that is your life.  You don't know anything else.

Year 3 is bitter sweet.  You've just spent the hardest two years of your life together, learning how to function in this new life, making friends you can't live without.  Everybody you see every day gets it because they are doing it too. 

And then you have to move away from this community of people you have endured the last two years with together.  And you start over.  You move to your rotation site and your support group is gone and nobody gets it.  They try.  They do try so hard to understand why the heck you are here if you aren't a part of local universities.  They try to understand why you don't work with the same doctor in the same clinic or the same hospital every month.  They stay interested, though I'm sure it is just so confusing every time they think about it.  And while NOBODY can fully understand what your new life is, they care.  They watch your kids.  They invite you to scrapbook.  They bring you dinners when you have a baby (because almost everybody has a baby during medical school).  They invite you to lunch.  They serve you.  They love you.  They become friends.  Friends you can count on for everything and remember for always.

4th year comes around and you feel like life is under control.  You find joy and happiness watching your husband come home extatic about the case he worked on that day.  You feel sick when he comes home hating a new rotation, and dreading the next month because he has to go a month of hating what he is doing.  Though your schedule changes monthly, you can expect that change.  You've lived through out rotations.  You've established what you want to be when you grow up.  You apply and interview at residency programs.  The match comes and your life is like a whirlwind.  Where are you going?  What will you really be doing for the rest of your life?  You live through some more shock of those results.  Preparations for yet another move take place.  You travel half way across the country to graduate in the midst of packing and cleaning and moving.  And you wonder if your money will run out before that first pay check in AUGUST!

At graduation you come "home" to the place where you lived and struggled and grew.  You see the people who did it with you.  You talk and laugh like two years never passed by.  You talk about the future and the kids you've had in the last two years away.  You GRADUATE!  You watch your husband walk across that stage.  You forget about the fight you are having with your camera and your bad view and you remember what it took to get to this very moment.  You gleam with pride in the work your doctor has accomplished.  And you smile because it is over!  When it's finally over you rush to find your guy.  You give him a big hug.  You take lots of pictures with lots of friends.  And when it's all said and done, you say goodbye again, not knowing when exactly the next time your paths will cross.  But you leave knowing that you made it with each other.  And no matter where life takes you, you will always be friends forever.

Congratulations Doctor Derek!  You did it. 

You did it when you were pulling all-nighters all the time. 

You did it when I locked you out of the house on the night of a final.  Oops!

You did it when your wife had a freak out about every 2 months because her husband was never around.

You did it when your wife got sick and couldn't be mom or wife or house keeper or friend, so you did all that too.

You did it when you were 26 hours away, all by yourself, missing your family, trying to impress the people you would potentially work with in residency.

YoU dId iT!  You did it.  I'm so proud of you.  I am so in love with you. 

You, Doctor Derek, are a doctor!