I started a blog post on 3/17/17 and this is how far I got: "It's 915 am and I'm trying to sleep. But all I can think about is how it's match day and in three short hours the names of my future colleagues will be revealed. "
Then the blogging app shut down and I never got back to it. And now it's almost a month later. I've gotten bad at keeping up with this blog post!
Well, now that match day has come and left, I know who my colleagues are going to be. It's an all female cast this year, and I didn't get to meet any of them (except one) because I was on the night shift when they interviewed so I wasn't around during the day when they were touring the hospital and such. I am not sure I'm ready for the transition yet where I am going to be charged with showing these ladies the ropes. But, I guess I'm ready to be done with this thing called "intern year." Partly because it's a right of passage and if I've survived it, it means I'm that much closer to a career :)
The last few weeks have been busy (I guess I should stop saying that because that's just how life is). I finished my night shift block and transitioned back to the world of days. I am now on an ultrasound rotation for two weeks which means that I spend most of my day performing ultrasounds on women--viability ultrasounds for those mothers that have undergone infertility treatment and are incredibly hopeful for a new life growing inside of them. Anatomy scan for women who were told there is a higher risk of Down's syndrome or congenital abnormalities and need to have a closer look at the structure of their babies heart, lungs, etc. It's amazing to see the anxious faces relax when I let them hear the heartbeat.
I finished my day last week with a set of twins that were literally punching their way around the uterus. It was a pretty fabulous feeling to watch their parents smile with joy. I went straight from that to the airport for a much needed trip back to Montana
Tom met me at the airport and we took off for a few days of fresh air, mountain views, memories, and family. The mansion is always a wonderful place to call home, let alone to stay in for a night in the guest room. We were thrilled to test out the new digs in the sunset room
First thing on the agenda after an amazing night of sleep: Lawson's birthday! We had a very pleasant Montana Spring day that even allowed us to get outside on the patio for the celebration. Look at this cutie!
His cake was *almost* as cute as him
After Lawson was all tuckered out from the day of seeing everyone in the family, he had a lot of help from the other cousins in the family to open up his gifts
It's really something special to have all the kiddos running around the house. It makes me feel old, but it's really pretty amazing to see the next generation coming up (ok, now I even sound old).
We ventured up to Sunset Knoll, the hillside where Tom and I had our wedding photos taken. There are a few more houses up that direction than there used to be, but it's still just as gorgeous as ever!
Even Peyton made it up the hill to enjoy. For those of you that don't know, Peyton has liver failure and won't be with us for much longer which made every moment in Montana even more bittersweet than it usually is, knowing that the next time I come back to Montana she probably won't be there to greet me. Now, before I start balling my eyes out while typing, I"m going to skip over that and post some more beautiful photos.
We had a chilly wind that evening but it was so nice to get out in the fresh air with views!
Our ears were freezing!
The next morning we spent some time around town, walking in one of the new parks. Of course, we were met with snow
So, we warmed up in this new coffee shop called the Dog and Bicycle--There are so many new places that I haven't been to in Missoula!
We obviously had to take Lawson for his first Carousel ride
And of course, to pet night at dairy queen!
I got to spend time with Kaylee too. I won't be posting a photo here obviously but I got a sneak preview of the wedding gown for June 2nd!! It was a way for me to see how the project I was working on a month ago worked with the dress. Let's just say, it's a keeper :)
After all the celebration and the tough goodbye to Lawson (ok, to Kristi and Tyrell too...but really it's Lawson it was hard to say goodbye to), Mom and Dad and us wandered into Glacier!
My favorite view point of the mission mountains on the way was therapeutic in so many ways.
Tom had never been to the park before and I'm quite certain that after visiting, we will be back!
Our
time was short but incredibly sweet as we hiked around the trails, saw
gorgeous lakes, streams and waterfalls, and breathtaking views.
Like Tom said multiple times on the trip--any vacation that requires bear spray is a GOOD VACATION. Thanks to mom who helped simulate the angry bear, I remembered how to use it :)
We stopped by McDonald lake first for some incredible views. Little did I know the views were only going to get more incredible to follow.
We hiked to John's lake and passed by some incredible blue green glacier waters along the way
We were blinded by the light!
Then we hit the jackpot of views
We found a gorgeous sunny rock to have a little lunch time snack during our hike
And while it was killing us to not have Peyton along for the treck (too much exercise for a failing body...) we had Tom playing with Peyton-sized sticks to help us deal with the fact that she wasn't there.
We just were constantly amazed at how CLEAN and blue the water is/was. It's just so different than anything we can find in Rhode Island!
We settled in for the night in Whitefish and enjoyed a luxurious dip in the hot tub overlooking the lake
And I certainly enjoyed soaking the tired muscles and then cozy-ing up in the hotel robes after getting some tea!
The next morning we had time for one more hike before he drove back to Missoula before our journey back to Rhode Island.
And what's a Montana hike without some deer?
We hiked to another lake, this one frozen over completely
We had fun throwing rocks to break the ice.
Saying goodbye is NEVER easy. And I would argue that this time saying goodbye was just a bit harder than it has been the last few times. There is a A LOT going on in our lives both in Rhode Island and in all of our family's lives back in Montana and Washington. Suffice it to say, residency is hard, and it is often made harder by being so far from home. Being homesick maybe isn't the right words for it. I think I'm family-sick. I miss you all so terribly and sometimes it's just easier (selfishly) for me to stay so busy and wrapped up in my world over here in New England so that I don't think about the things I'm missing on a daily basis by being so busy.
What I'm doing is an incredible opportunity. I'm becoming a doctor. But it doesn't mean I don't feel saddened to be away from you all. I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that i miss you. I miss seeing you. I miss knowing what's going on with you. I want you to know that sometimes when I don't ask or I don't keep in touch, it's a selfish way of keeping myself protected from the way it makes me feel to know what I'm missing. Not knowing has its perks too. So, with that somewhat depressing notion, I'm signing off for the night.
It's starting to look like spring in Rhode Island. We're moving to a new home in less than 3 weeks, I will be finishing intern year in less than 3 months, and I will be graduating residency in 3 years. I'm going to try to be better at stopping to smell the roses, to keep in better touch. I make no guarantees. But I hope you guys get to stop and cherish moments too. It is like they say, life goes so fast. I miss these little feet that go in these little shoes, and I know when I see them again, they won't fit in these shoes. So for now, I'm just going to be happy that I saw these little feet and these little shoes when I did!
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