Say It Isn't So!

Once again I am amazed at how quickly time slips through my fingers. At the end of this week our house will be packed up and we will be on the road, again. The moment that I have imagined for the last seven years (much longer in reality) is finally here. When did that happen?

I am having one of those moments where I am not even sure those years transpired. It seems so long ago, and the details are getting blurry. We lived there? We did what?

Residency and Fellowship flew by. It is like looking at your oldest child and wondering how it was possible that they were ever an infant. How did they grow up so quickly without you noticing? It is surreal. But it is over. I will be attending the very last graduation dinner as a spouse of a resident or fellow. Maybe the last graduation dinner ever.

Can you believe that next Monday is the July edition of Medical Mondays? Yes, that is what happens when July 1st falls on a Monday. How fitting that is. July is a big month in the world of medical education. It is the date that most of us who have been in training use to mark off another year. Rotations change, seniority change, pay even changes:-) It is a big deal.

Our co-hosts this month are Heather from Army Wife, Army Life and Cyndy from Putting the Fun in Dysfunctional (love that name).

Will you be celebrating on July 1st? Celebrate with us at Medical Mondays July 1st!

Never Thought I Would Say That

I want my old van back!

I like my new van, I really do. There is just one problem: I don't have time to go to the dealership every few months.

My old van -  never gave me a problem. Sure it wasn't pretty, and was small, and old. But it didn't give me any of the problems that this one has.

Shortly after bringing it home I scratched up the wheels pretty good while getting used to how BIG it was compared to my old van. I don't think there is a curb in the neighborhood that escaped my bumping and jumping.

And then it needed a trip to the body shop because during a crazy wind storm our friends basketball hoop blew over on it and put a big dent in it. The kind of dent that you could have lived with, and had it not been so new I might have. But did I really want to look at that dent for the next several years? No.

Next was the Tire Pressure Sensors. When the temperature would drop the change in air pressure would cause the warning light to come on. The tires are inflated with a heavy concentration of nitrogen. Can't get nitrogen at the gas station. I ignored it for a while, and eventually just put normal air in it. Problem solved.

But then it happened again. Only this time it was legitimate. My big fat van ran over something else. My neighbor put a bunch of stuff out on the curb, including part of a wooden palette. I think I ran over a nail. There was a slow leak. It was enough to trigger the warning system again and wouldn't hold air when I attempted to inflate the tires fully.

Did I mention that the dealership isn't even close?

So I took the van to Discount Tire, we have always loved them and they were close, and they fixed the hole for free. Only the beeping of the warning system wouldn't shut off. The leak was fixed, but now I had an obnoxious beeping sound. They said that they reset it and that after driving around for a while it should turn off. Well I drove around for an hour waiting for it to turn off. It didn't. We took the car to the dealership, with tires that were perfect, to get the warning system reset only to find out that when they put the tire pressure sensor on the wheel they installed it backwards causing a misread of the monitoring system.

But here is the problem. In order to fix it they had to take the tire off the rim, and doing so with the monitor on backwards snapped the monitor and it had to be replaced. So a free tire repair at Discount turned into a $250 bill at the dealership. The bills are adding up!

And then this week I spent another hour at the dealership starting at 7:30 am with all 4 of my kids because the automatic opening/closing door wasn't closing automatically. The previous day we had gone to a museum and noticed that the door opened after I closed it. Good thing I turned around to look otherwise we would have left our car with the door wide open. I was finally able to get it to close by "helping it" at just the right moment. These smart vans, are not very smart. There is no way to disable the automatic opening and revert to a manual setting.

Upon arrival at the dealership I was told that it would be at least two hours, and then if they were able to fix it that day it would be another two hours. Four hours. Four hours with me and my kids at a dealership unable to leave. No loaner car available. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. That could have been fun.

Luckily they were able to ascertain within an hour that the sensor had gone bad. How does that happen in 9 months? But, the part would take a week to get. So next week, right before we move, I get to spend who knows how long at the dealership again fixing something that shouldn't need fixing.

My old van needed oil changes. In the five years we had it not a single trip was ever made to the repair shop for any reason. We did change the brakes one time when my father in law was in town, and right before we moved last year and drove it 1,000 miles, we had it tuned up. But it never let us down.

I hope my van is cured of whatever is ailing it and that it lives up to the reputation I thought it had. I made the assumption that newer would be better, and that newer would mean less maintenance. Those two things aren't always so.

Summer, How I Love Summer

Summer is awesome!

I nearly forgot that I hadn't posted anything in a few days we are having so much fun. Part of my new found love for summer may have something to do with the fact that we have decided to let the professionals pack our house up without trying to be frugal about it. Who cares if we have to pay for it ourselves? I don't. What freedom!

I have to admit that I still look around the house and start hyper-ventilating because I feel like I should be doing something. It is at those moments that I have to leave the house. Out of sight, out of mind.

Leaving the house has been another bonus of summer. The pools are open, and we have great pools. Before summer is over we should have glowing tans.

What does my summer schedule look like:

Sleep in, or at least stay in bed until 8:00. If one of the kids come down I remind them that it is summer and we don't have to do anything. Further, I remind them that breakfast won't be served until 8:15.

Go to the pool, early. We head to the pool when it opens, stay for two hours and then come home for lunch and naps. The baby sleeps so well after a morning in the sun.

After lunch, the older kids watch a movie and I work out. Yes, had I done this much earlier I wouldn't have to be working so hard now. But there is nothing like putting a swim suit on in the morning to remind you that you need to work out when you get home.

Mid afternoon,  I look over our belongings once more and remind myself that magic is going to happen on the 28th of June. The little moving fairies will come in the space of a few hours have the entire house in brown cardboard boxes. I resist the urge to pack.

And then I remember that I still need to deep clean every surface in the house. So I spend an hour scrubbing walls and baseboards or looking for things that we need to fix/disguise before we turn over the keys.

Have I already said how much I have enjoyed renting this year? I like it so much, we'll probably do it again.

Hallmark Habit

It's Friday night, what are you doing?

My husband is on call, and that means that I have a date with a Hallmark movie. What typically happens on call nights is that I start watching Hallmark movies while pretending to clean the house or fold laundry. Except the only thing that gets done is the movie. The cleaning is always there in the morning unfinished and unbothered by the fact that I paid it no attention.

I reserve Hallmark movies for call night because my husband doesn't like them. He thinks they are formulaic, and they are. He can name the story line within seconds of seeing the beginning. And he is right. You always can tell how it is going to end, it's like they don't even try to build suspense or climax. And if you didn't already know this, Hallmark movies always have happy endings. I have seen so many Hallmark movies I could probably write a convincing teleplay.

But the reason I decided to come clean about my obsession with the Hallmark channel is that the movie I watched today had all the typical stereotypes of doctors and their lives, or rather their wives. In case you want to watch it to see what I am talking about, check your local programming for "The Sweeter Side of Life".

It opens in Manhattan with a woman and a truly magnificent closet lined with very beautiful items. Ah, this is going to be a movie about a rich, socialite, who has a marvelous life.

On her way out of her penthouse the doorman comments that her husband sure left early. Her reply, with a perfectly white smile, is "such is the life of a surgeon".

She then goes on to meet her girlfriends at the gym, and then later for lunch, and then goes shopping on 5th Avenue. Her shopping was so successful that she needs the door man's help getting all the bags in.

That evening she is sitting at home with a bottle of wine waiting for her husband to come home. It is their anniversary. She calls his office, and a member of his staff tells her that he had an emergency bunion surgery. He is a podiatrist!

Later in the movie it is revealed that he is a cosmetic foot surgeon to the stars. I don't know if that is even a real profession. I guess that explains the lavish lifestyle, it's make believe too.

Anyway, I know you are dying to know what happens next. He didn't remember their anniversary and then tells her that he is leaving her for another woman. She begs to know how old the mistress is. Twenty.

Then she goes on to get her own life because she signed a pre-nup and didn't get a cent from the divorce. She is on her own. She meets a new man. They live happily ever after.

I am jumping the gun a little, because the movie isn't even over yet. I can blog and watch a Hallmark movie at the same time too, because even if you don't catch every word or every scene you still know what is happening.

Have a great weekend!

Shopping Spree

We have decided to spend money on photographs. If I am going to spend money on photographs you have to put a little thought into what you are going to wear. Looking at our closets it is clear that we don't have clothes. Sure I do plenty of laundry but trying to put together something from our closets that will coordinate (not match) is a game show all on it's own - and I am losing. I found two things that were recently purchased for the summer in my sons closet and the baby's closet. So I decided to work off that palette thinking I had just saved some time and money. Not so.

I have been shopping like crazy. Online and in the stores for the last week.  Today I hit up two stores before 10:00, thank heavens Kohl's and Target are open early, all in search of that one item that will bring it all together.

When you are trying to coordinate outfits for multiples people the odds are against you once you hit more than 3 or 4 people. I can get about 4 of us in coordinating outfits but the minute I try to get the 5th  things fall apart.

Trying to explain to my husband why we can't all wear blue Polo's and denim was fun. I had to remind him of a book a patient gave him a few years ago that we died laughing over. Have you ever heard of "Awkward Family Photos"? Great laughs, and I know I have pictures just like a few of them. Lesson learned - you don't all wear exactly the same outfit.

You have to coordinate color palettes, patterns, textures, styles, accessories. I can dress myself competently and believe I am moderately stylish, but trying to do it for everyone is overwhelming. Someone should really start a styling service for families like ours who are clueless for occasions like this. I would pay someone to do this for me. Sure Pinterest has some color boards that are lovely and I have tried my best. Let's hope it's good enough.

Oh, and the photographer told us to pick our clothing choices with the room in mind where the photograph will be hanging. Hum, we don't have a house. I have no idea what the house is going to look like or what colors I might put in it.  This is turning into a very expensive experiment.

So I have spent hundreds of dollars on clothing. I have piles of stuff that will need to be returned (as soon as I can get the combinations right) and wouldn't you know that the hardest person to dress in this scenario is me. I always thought shopping would be more fun. I'm not having fun, and may not want to shop again for a very, very, long time.

Medical Monday's Panic

I think I am having a wee little PANIC attack!!! Maybe it isn't so little. When did June happen? Where did May go? Four weeks from today I will be making yet another 1,000 mile journey to yet another destination for this crazy life of medicine. Hopefully this will be the final 1,000 miles we travel, but you never know.

In the meantime, there are things to do. The first of which is kick off this edition of Medical Mondays. I can have my full blown panic attack tomorrow.

It's June! The Summer parties start here with Medical Mondays! So, let's dump the uniforms, scrubs and white coats and have some fun visiting old friends and making some new ones!

Are you confused if you qualify for the party?

If you have a pager interrupting your life... you DEFINITELY qualify!
Do you work in healthcare?

Doctor? Nurse? EMT? Chiropractor? Vet? Dentist? Therapist?

MA? NA? PA? DA?

Are you the spouse or SO of a healthcare worker/student?

Are you a nursing student? Medical student?

Intern? Resident? Fellow?

You get the picture, right? Come on, now... don't be shy! Let's keep growing and meeting new bloggers, so we can build a community of support and friendship, learn from one another, and share our stories.

LINK UP YOUR POST!

Here are the rules:

1. Follow your co-hosts via Bloglovin (since GFC will soon be defunct), FB, email or Twitter.
2. Link up you medical/med life blog. If your blog name does not clearly state how you fit in to the med/med life world, please write a little intro or link up a specific post which clearly demonstrates your connection.
3. Visit at least 3 other link ups, comment, introduce yourself, and tell the your stopping by or following from MM!
4. Help spread the word by using our button on your post or sidebar, tweet about Medical Monday, or spread the word on Facebook! The more the merrier for all of us.

Complete step one by following your co-hosts:

• Emma at Your Doctor's Wife
• Jane at From A Doctor's Wife
• Amber at The Unconventional Doctor's Wife

Want to be awesome?
Post our button on you post or sidebar and help spread the word:

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Want to co-host next month? Shoot Emma an email at yourdoctorswife@gmail.com and be sure to write "Medical Monday Co-host Request" in the subject field.

Now, link up below and have fun! The link up is open through Friday, so be sure to come back during the week to check some great reads!