Residency

Last week was the Residency Match Day.  For those of you not in healthcare, that is the day that medical and pharmacy students anxiously await a message telling them where they are spending the next year of their life.  I think that the process is purposefully stress-inducing since you really have no idea except that you are committed to go to whatever place you match with - whether it is your first choice or your seventh choice.  As I finished up pharmacy school in 2010, I applied for 3 residencies.  We knew we wanted to move to the Boise area and so I only applied here.  Our parents were excited to find out where we were going and we had already planned to call them and let them know what our plans would be.  The conversation went something like this - 

Mom/Dad:  So...what's the news?

Anne/Doug:  Turns out we didn't match anywhere.

Mom/Dad:  Oh honey, I'm sorry...I thought for sure...

Anne/Doug:  Don't be sorry.  It turns out we didn't match because we withdrew because...  ... ... (really big dramatic pause) ... we are having a baby!

(You can easily imagine the rest of the conversation in regards to the first grandbaby.)

Prior to pursuing a residency, we had really debated what our next steps were - residency or family.  Since we weren't exactly certain of which direction we should go, we decided to pursue both.  Pregnancy wasn't coming easily but things were looking good on the residency front.  I'd had a few great breaks in regards to networking and had quite a few people make additional personal recommendations to some of the residency directors.  I was able to coordinate all of my interviews over the same few days so I only needed to make one trek to Boise.  It was the first time that Doug and I were apart and I remember missing him terribly.  As I drove home, I stopped in Burley for BK breakfast.  (My dad knows that BK breakfast is one of my absolutely most favorite things!)  I thought I should use the restroom before I made the rest of the snow-filled trek to SLC.  But, as I stood up, old ladies (with walkers) cut me off in getting to the aisle that went to the restroom.  I figured, "I'm a pharmacist...I'm great at going hours without being able to use the bathroom."  And I was on my way.  As I was driving, I started doing some monthly calendar calculations and realized things were a bit late.  Then, I realized that, thanks to the walker-ladies, my hcg would be well concentrated by the time I got home.  I decided not to stop for a bathroom in Tremonton either (and prayed for decent traffic around Ogden and Bountiful - ha!).  

Doug was at work when I got home so I ran into the house and grabbed a pregnancy test.  When it came back positive, I think my first thought was "Seriously, Heavenly Father?  That is crazy timing.  You do know I just interviewed for residency, right?"  The next thought was how to tell Doug.  Thankfully, I had prepared in advance.  I had a little newborn onesie and I wrapped it up with a picture of the pregnancy test.  The next hours seem to drag by forever!  Where was a Gilmore Girls marathon when I needed one?  I can still remember what Doug was wearing when he got home.  (It was hospital issued blue scrubs so don't be too impressed with my memory.)  He was confused by the onesie but figured it out with the picture of the test.

They say in residency you work harder than you have ever worked, sleep less than you have ever slept and learn years worth of information in a short period of time.  Oh, and you get paid very little compared to what you should with your degree.

I would say that during my "residency year," I worked harder than I had ever worked, slept less than I had ever slept and learned years worth of eternal knowledge in a very short period of time.  Oh, and from some perspectives, I was paid very little.  However, from my perspective, I was given the best form of payment.  I will forever be this guy's mom...forever.  I am so grateful for him (fake smile and all) and for the ways that he has changed me.  I can't imagine what would have happened if he hadn't entered our lives right when he did.  (And I can't really believe that he has gotten so big!)  He is an amazing kid and will grow up to be an amazing man.