10. In the end, it's all worth it!

It's very appropriate that I'm ending my list of "Things I Learned During My Husband's Residency" on the eve of my husband's first day in his new practice. He technically won't be seeing patients until the end of the week, but tomorrow morning, he will be getting up and going into the office to start his journey as a doctor in the "real world". And, after reflecting on all of the long hours and hard work he put in during his residency and all of the time I spent on my own, I realize that it was all truly worth it. We gained so many positive experiences in Ohio. We both made a plethora (yes, I said "plethora") of friends, both in our individual workplaces and outside of work. We found out what it was like to be independent adults away from our families, and then, after having our son, discovered the importance of having our families close and involved in our lives. I gave birth to an amazing little boy who surprises both of us daily, keeps us on our toes, and is our shining light of hope for the future of our planet. I opened my eyes and mind to new ideas in regards to living a more green, organic, and holistic lifestyle, which I'm nowhere near to achieving, but slowly making progress, I think. I became physically and mentally healthy by changing my diet somewhat, exercising regularly, and finding new hobbies and interests. (I've kind of fallen off the wagon when it comes to eating healthy and exercising, but that will change when we join the local YMCA. I have, however, taken up knitting again, which I haven't done in years and have found quite relaxing.) Finally, my husband and I discovered a common interest (gaming) that has allowed us to renew our relationship in many ways, make lots of new friends (and to be open to making new friends, which used to be a hard thing for me to do) and have fun along the way. Residency was a hard journey for both of us, but we're better and stronger people for traveling it and for successfully reaching the next point in our lives. I don't know if the journey will get any easier, but I do know that because of our previous experiences, we'll get through it just fine because we'll do it together. To all of you reading this, thank you for sharing in the journey with us. I hope you enjoy the ride along the way.
Namaste, and best to you all,
Amanda

What I've Learned Along The Way: Part I (with a Disclaimer)

My plan for this blog at first is to share what I've learned during my husband's four years of residency, both about myself and about the residency job in general. Remember, residency really IS a job. As soon as a medical student graduates from medical school, he or she is no longer a student, but an M.D. without the specific training for his/her preferred field. I in no way want to diminish the importance of medical school, since many people marry during this critical time in life, just as my husband and I did. However, personally, it's been over four years since my husband was a student, and after caring for a baby as well as for my husband and my home, I've forgotten some of the events of our first three years of marriage. I do remember that it was a difficult, time-consuming four years for my husband, filled with studying and exams with lots of opportunities for fun scattered throughout. However, I also remember that I worked full-time when he was in school and spent many a late evening at my office job, so we kind of balanced each other out when it came to working long hours. Since residency is a more recent occurrence for my husband and myself, I will focus more on it's impact in our lives. First, a disclaimer: Every residency program is different, just as every man and woman is different. The things I'll be discussing in the following posts will not apply to everyone. However, I feel I've spoken to enough physician spouses to discover that there are similarities between our situations. If you are the spouse of a physician, or even the spouse of someone with a career that takes them away from home and family for most of the week, then please feel free to chime in in the comments section with your thoughts, either here or in future posts. I would like this blog to be both an "advice column" (using the term "advice" very loosely, since I feel I'm not qualified to advise most people on anything) as well as a discussion forum for peoples' thoughts, feelings, and own revelations concerning their personal situations.
So, shall we begin? In my next blog post, I hope to list the specific things I've learned while traveling with my husband through the journey that is residency. I will be using the metaphor of "a journey" a lot in my blog, I think. Because, really, what is life, but a journey with our loved ones? Hope to see you along the way!
Best to you all,
Amanda