Losing Sleep

I have a bad habit. I immediately see what could be done better/different in any situation (and by better, I mean my version of better). I pour over the past looking for the best way to handle conflicts and confrontations. I review financial decisions we have made and pick them apart to determine how something might have been maximized or minimized. I worry about things that are in the past, present, and future. I know myself well enough now that I can see it coming, I know when it is here, and I know how to get rid of it.

It was during one of those worry sessions months ago that I felt the desire to create this blog. And now as I am once again sleepless I know the only way to purge this worry from my system is to put it in this blog, as a permanent resting place, so I can move on to the other business in my life. I need to lay it all out, leave no rock unturned, and then remove my hands from the keyboard knowing that it is done.

As we are approaching the last of the Match Days for our medical student friends and families I know there is an intense desire to get settled, to feel like an adult, to be part of the world that we see our friends and families in, and to start living life. I know that right now you are having discussions about where to live. Do you buy or rent? You will think you have done your homework and are prepared, and maybe you are. But maybe you haven't thought of everything. Hindsight really is 20/20.

The problem with hindsight is it comes after all the decisions have been made. As far as I know you can't go back in time, but you can use the experiences of someone who is at the end of the journey to warn you of pot holes and sharp turns along the way. Warnings you can choose to contemplate, or to dismiss.

Over the next several days I am going to divulge details. From the very beginning (buying) to the very end (selling), pointing out red flags along the way. I don't want to make judgements on our personal decision or yours. But I want to lay out the information in a way that you can take your own unique circumstances and apply the lessons we've learned to see what the best decision will be for you and your own family. I am fully aware those decisions may be different from my own, and may even be different from my recommendation.

My greatest fear is that as medical students embarking on residency, the same mistakes are made over and over with each graduating class because no one will tell the truth about what you are getting in to. We all just smile and say it is great! After all, we are married to doctors. When is the last time you talked with anyone in detail about their income, their expenditures, their debt, their check book balance? Or for that matter, truthfully revealed yours? It isn't something we talk about, but I will - starting now.

Join me over the next several days, it's coming out.