#GetOutside

This weekend my husband and I went on an overnight backpacking trip. We had so much fun and cannot wait to do it again! As with trying anything for the first time, you make mistakes and learn a lot. Our mistake? We forgot utensils to eat our food with. Kind of important if you ask me. But we ‘did more with less’ (a Zappos core value) and used some mugs and gravity to shovel food into our mouths.

How lucky am I to live in a state with more than one National Park? We went to Mount Rainer National Park and will definitely be back! Here are some photos of our trip!

I Get To

This was something I initially learned when I was in network marketing. And while I am not in network marketing at this given time, this has resurfaced again as I think about the journey of medical school and soon to be residency. The leaders of my company wanted us to try and find the blessings and positives of not just life, but our businesses too. Never did more than try it once or twice, but that’s it.

While it is easy for me to complain and stress about all the things that need to get done before Geoff starts his residency, my father in law reminded me that we should enjoy and be thankful for this journey. There are so many that wish they could be a doctor and be in our spot. Not only that, but it’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, only focusing on that next step/stair that we forget that we need to also enjoy it along the way.

So I have taken some time to reflect on my blessings through this journey.

GET TO

GETS

GET TO

GOT TO

GET TO

There were some of Geoff’s classmates that were not as lucky to match in the first round and they had to scramble the week of to find a home for their residency. Most, if not all, of who had to scramble found a home and I could not be more excited for them! Now they too get to say ‘I get to.’

I challenge you to think about the blessings in your life and make a list of the things that you ‘get to’ do because of either your job, your business (brick and mortar or network marketing), your family, whatever it might be. Because life’s most amazing blessings aren’t always big, sometimes the smallest blessings have the biggest impact.

Xoxo

Cloud 9 ☁️

Today was/is Match Day. It has been the day that we have been waiting for since we started medical school. Geoff and I FINALLY know where we are headed for residency.

WE ARE HEADED BACK HOME! Home to the Pacific Northwest. 💕 We are so excited and CANNOT wait. Here are some photos from earlier today. Congratulations to everyone who matched!!

London Bridge

London Bridge is falling down my fair lady. And there I stood; standing in the middle of a plan I called life. Crumbled all around me; the pieces of my glorious bridge. Damn what a beautiful structure. Meticulously built, labored over and held together with love. The med school bomb just exploded. I tried, I really did but the tears spilt over, rolling down my cheeks. He was serious and the more I tried to talk him out of it, the more I realized there was no going back. My stomach sank and that very moment I knew life would never be the same. Perhaps I should’ve stood my ground, maybe threw an absolute bitch fit but in the end who I am to deny a man his destiny. He took the MCAT, applied to med school, and before I could even catch my breath we packed up and moved to Vegas. Welcome to year one.

Go ahead, search high and low for information on first year and being married to medicine. I did. I read every blog post, drowned in YouTube videos but nothing truly prepared me. Plain and simple, med school takes over. It will dominate and redefine every aspect of your existence. Choosing to go into medicine is not just a job. Year one exists to show you medicine is life; medicine is a calling.

Our medical transition is different than most. The best case scenario a med school candidate is young, single, has financial support and ready to take on the world. Med school year one, we’re in our 30’s, twelve year marriage with older kids, two dogs, couple of parakeets, fish and a partridge in a pear tree. So let’s just say I haven’t handled it the best. I try but…

Long story short love, become one with change, breathe in change, breathe out change, obtain peace with change. And by change I mean the sooner you can deal with feeling alone the better. The loneliness will eat at you, don’t let it. Time to suck it up buttercup, you’re a med school spouse. Year one is meant for you to build a support system. You’re going to need this for the rest of med school. Each year is more difficult. Truly invest in things that bring you peace and emotional support. If at all possible stay close to family during med school and if that isn’t an option reach out and make friendships so strong they become your family. Year one I spent watching him study. Don’t do that. Get out, do you boo and when you can connect with your S/O, go out and have a good time!

Year one will rock your world as will year two, three and four. Each year is a different hurdle but year one is about studying and labs and studying and lecture and studying more…did I say studying? My hubs spent hours studying, sometimes 16 hr days. Undergrad is like water hose of information being sprayed at you and med school is like a freaking fire hydrant. So when your S/O has to study don’t take it personally because they’re literally treading water, trying not to drown in information.

You got this! YOU GOT THIS! Be gracious with yourself during this transition and realize there’s no perfect way to do it. Most of all know you’re not alone!

xoxo,

naomi

Living In A State of Uncertainty

Geoff will graduate from his medical school in May of this year – 2019. Let that sink in for a minute. I will be D O N E with the medical school part of this journey in just a little over 5 months. Craziness. The next part, if you know anything or nothing about the process of becoming a doctor, is residency. Residency – in the simplest of terms – is where one goes to further learn their specialty and practice their specialty under the watchful eyes of attending physicians.

It feels like all of fourth year has been this fluid state of uncertainty. Not knowing exactly where your S.O. (and you for that matter) will go for the next part of his training can be quite anxiety riding if you ask me. But trust in the process that is The Match and everything will work out they say. So…you’re telling me that Geoff and I will be putting our lives in the hands of an algorithm. Coolness. The EASIEST way to explain The Match is with the YouTube video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvgfgGmemdA

Source: National Resident Matching Program YouTube Channel

What is even more nuts is that Geoff and I will find out where we are headed in March 2019! That’s roughly only two and a half months away from today – January 4th. Everyone always asks us where we would like to end up, where our #1 choice is. Our answer? Home – Washington State. However, should that not be the case, we’re blessed to have several other great options available. Rest assured that I will share with all of you where we are going upon finding out and that I will continue to share our journey through life in residency!

xoxo