We are going to be fine.

Just fine. I realized this today as I was driving home from my weekend visit to see Drew. As we are currently five months out from Match day - the day that we will find out what and where we will be going/staying for the next 6-9 years. And six to nine years is a serious amount of time. This whole process is a big one, because I will have to live with whatever it brings. But after spending this weekend with Drew at Away Rotation #3, it made me realize that home, will be home because I am with Drew. And although I may have a hard time with the future, and I may have adjustment issues and I may have meltdowns in the process; I will adjust. And we will be okay. Spending this weekend in the new town with Drew, there were moments when I could see myself living in that town, and being happy. And I know that it is not the only place I will be able to be happy. Each town and city will have things that make it feel like home. And most importantly, wherever I go, will be with Drew, and that alone will make everything okay. It made me realize that I just have to continue to have faith in God. And he will take care of us. And we will be just fine.

Crazy busy

Work is keeping me quite busy this week. I have two new clients who have rather pressing matters as well as a number of other deadlines. So unfortunately I don't have time to update on my amazing weekend and show you some of the great pictures I took of my wonderful nephews. But I suppose it is good to be busy.
Right now we have 9 and a half weeks down and 2 and a half weeks left to go (as far as Drew being gone on away rotations.) I am also looking forward to visiting Drew this weekend. He went in on both Saturday and Sunday last weekend and is planning on at least one day off this weekend off. Believe it or not, last week they told Drew "You know you don't have to come in on the weekends." I almost fell over at this comment. But then again it isn't that surprising considering how laid back this program seems to be.
And that's all I've got time for right now. I'm trying to get to bed early because almost everyone at my office has been sick this week and the last so I am trying to remain one of the few healthy ones!

Odds and Ends

This week has gone pretty well, we've had a few more interview invitations come in, putting us in the double digits. So far it looks like 40 of the 99 Neurosurgery programs are offering interviews. Based on looking at the list of programs that have offered interviews so far (not the most reliable source - a chat board) more than half the programs we applied to still haven't extended invitations. Although we think that this week is the start of things picking up. Most programs have interviews in November (if not earlier) so they need to start extending invitations so that people can plan to attend. As for right now we aren't getting our hopes up but we aren't worried either. The one thing we are realizing is that this is going to be a very expensive process. We knew it before but I guess it is finally becoming a realization. I'm thinking we may have to borrow some additionally money because the scheduling is not going as well as planned. For example Drew may have to take more than one trip to some states like Texas that have several programs. But at least that means we are getting interviews, I suppose we'll keep accepting them and figure out how we are going to pay for them later.

So far Drew seems to be enjoying his second away rotation, although I really haven't spoken with him much since he got off early on Tuesday. He worked yesterday until a little after eight, and by the time he got home he ate and went to bed. At this rotation Drew is staying with one of his friends from college. His friends house is about 20 minutes from the hospital so he does have a short commute. Although it is no longer than his commute at his first two away rotations, he does not have public transportation here. This worries me a bit because I know how sleep deprived he was the past two months. But Drew has assured me he will just stay at the hospital or take a cab if he every feels too tired to drive.

This weekend I am heading home to my parents house. I will have a weekend packed: of seeing an old friend I haven't seen in a while and meeting her new baby, seeing my Goddaughter (and her parents), possibly seeing a law school friend, and going apple picking with my sisters and nephews. My Martha-Stewart-sister has plans to make all kinds of candied applies and apple desserts! And I am also looking forward to taking lots of pictures with my new camera, so you'll get to see those next week. Wishing you all a wonderful fall weekend!

Dr. McDreamy

So I did finally hear from Drew a little after ten last night. Turns out he was taking call. He seemed okay with it even though he wasn't exactly prepared for it. And although he didn't have his toothbrush he did have some of those new Colgate wisps on him. He said that he did get some time in the O.R. both yesterday and today.
Drew said everyone seems friendly and he feels comfortable there already. So far from just from my perceptions of yesterday and today this program is a little different from his last two away rotations. It seems a little more laid back and less intense. For example he usually stayed until at least 6 or 7 p.m. when he was post call at the first two programs. Today when he was post call people kept asking him "What are you still doing here?" Since they were encouraging him to leave Drew decided to leave at little before 2 p.m! He figured he would take advantage of the free time to work out and get some rest since there wasn't anything exciting going on in the O.R.
Another thing is that he actually got four and a half hours of sleep last night which is more than he is used to from the other two rotations.
Oh and get this... they gave him food vouchers for the cafeteria! How awesome is that! I'm very excited about this since a large chunk of our most recent credit card statement can be attributed to chicken caesar wraps from away rotation #2. I've already told Drew that I expect him to at least try and not spend much more than the food vouchers he was given. After all he still has quite a bit of food, snacks and granola bars that I bought for him.
And in case you are wondering about the title of this post... I have a little story. Early this morning while Drew was going to get some coffee he passed a few young women standing in the hall (what they were doing there at such early hours he doesn't know) but after he passed them he overheard them say "ooooh, Dr. McDreamy....." Drew told me this story to remind me how lucky I am. So just so you all know, apparently I am married to (sigh/swoon) "Dr. McDreamy" Oh man as if I don't have a hard enough time humbling him already!

Away Rotation #3

It's 10:00 p.m. and I still haven't heard from Drew (other than 1 text message) today. At his last two away rotations he may have had long nights, but his first day was usually a short one. So I am a bit surprised that he is still working!
I'm sure he doesn't mind though - he is actually probably happy about it. Drew doesn't have much tolerance for administrative tasks and usually that is what the majority of the first day involves. So being that he isn't off yet I imagine he is in the O.R. and glad to already be getting his hands dirty.
I'm not going to stay up because who knows how late he'll be, so I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about his first day!

I'm back!

(to blogging that is).... but my husband is gone.

We had a wonderful week at home together. Drew hadn't been back to Springfield in two months, so he was happy to be at home (and I was happy to have him home!) He said that although he felt comfortable at his sister's place it wasn't "home." So this week he finally got to relax and feel at home. He got plenty of rest and also was a great help around the apartment. In the last few weeks I had allowed our apartment to become a complete mess, so it was in need of a thorough cleaning. And even though he didn't help create the mess he was a doll and helped me clean it up.
While he was home for the week I wanted more than anything to stay home and relax with him all day, but unfortunately I had to be a grown-up and do that "working" thing. In order to spend as much time together as possible Drew came to work everyday and picked me up and took me out to lunch. Although it wasn't in the budget, we were able to use gift certificates most of the days, and we considered it a worth while splurge.
It was simply wonderful to come home to my sweetheart everyday, and to roll over and see his precious face every morning when my alarm went off.
But this afternoon he left again for Away Rotation #3. Although I am going to miss him over the next four weeks, I will be able to visit him and this time there is a light at the end of the tunnel. When he left for his first away rotation, the thought of him being gone for three months seemed so long, and so daunting. Right now with eight weeks apart under our belt, four weeks seems like nothing. I'm hoping it will fly by.
As far as the residency application process, things are moving along. We have heard from 9 programs so far and have 8 interview offers and 1 rejection. Although eight seems like a large number, for neurosurgery it isn't. With a 60% match rate we are hoping for at least 18 interviews in order to better increase Drew's chances of matching.