Sigh. Alas, it has been almost 5 months since I last posted. Bad news. Good news though is I have a LOT to catch you all up on. As if you don't already know most of this- thanks to social media and such. I will only give a few highlights so as to not have this post take you at least a year to read. Med School. Woof. The most stressful day/week of our lives came and went in March with the match looming over our heads. So here's the deal- we did not match into an Orthopedic residency, as hoped for. We did, however, match into a pre-lim year in general surgery. Our hope for matching into ortho was in a small town residency program in Bethlehem, PA. We did an away rotation there in the fall, as you might recall from previous blog posts. The general surgery year we matched into is also in PA- a small town called Danville- but is not the same city or program as the one we were hoping for. It is about an hour north of Bethlehem. Although we were of course disappointed with not matching into what we wanted, we ARE however, very grateful that we matched and have a place to go after graduation. Matching is always better than not matching. To answer the ultimate FAQ, the plan as of now is to reapply to the match this upcoming fall after Ben works his butt off and shows them he's an amazing resident. We will apply to multiple programs, but will mainly be focusing on the program in Danville or the program in Bethlehem, that we originally hoped for. If things go according to plan (and they don't always), it looks like we will be in PA for a while. The good news is that I love PA- it is gorgeous here, I'm close to a lot of amazing cities without having to actually live in them, and the people here are ridiculously friendly and welcoming.
So let's back track a little. Flint turned a year old in April! I thought maybe I would feel a little more sad and think "Oh no where has my baby gone?!" But it really hasn't been like that. To me, Flint just keeps getting more and more fun and I am thoroughly enjoying this new stage in his life. His little personality continues to shine through and he is becoming more independent and assertive. We had a great day at the park with friends for his party. The weather was absolutely perfect.
Ben graduated from medical school! Time really did fly. I met Ben right when he came out here for Medical school and just like that 4 years are behind us. I'm so proud of him and all that he has accomplished. Being a Doctor is a BIG deal!!
We soaked up the last little bits of St. Louis before it was moving time. We went up the arch with my in-laws. And ate at all the yummy places I could think of- or at least had time for. Of course I couldn't get to them all.
I also chopped my hair off.
And then it was time to leave. This whole moving thing has been so different than I imagined. I felt like we were in limbo between match day and actually leaving because we knew we were leaving and the anxiety and stress that precedes moving was killing me inside. But once I actually got in the car and we started driving away, I somehow felt this huge relief. (After many tears and puffy eyes of course) And this move was different than any other move I have gone though before. It hasn't been as hard because I have my two favorite people with me to take on this new adventure with. And I always have the comfort of knowing that I have plenty of reasons to go and visit St. Louis. I'll be back for sure.
Danville is a very small town. Population 5000 and the hospital literally takes up half of the town's size. It is HUGE. It's quaint and quiet. It's a huge change from St. Louis, but so far I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have liked it. We have been doing our best to get out and explore. We've done farmers markets, splash pads, etc. The town is small enough that you can literally walk to anywhere you want to go. It blew my mind that on memorial day they did a parade and the entire town walked to the bridge (Danville is located on the Susquehanna river) to watch a flower drop, then walked to "downtown" Danville to watch the parade, and then walked to the memorial park to watch the little program that they put on. We walked the majority of the city and it didn't even take any time. haha! I love our house that we are renting. It's 2 stories with 2 and a half bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs with a dining room, living room, kitchen and sunroom (with a hot tub!! holllaaaaa) downstairs. There is also a great deck and fire pit in the back yard. It definitely has it's quirks- hey it was built in 1875- but it already feels like home.
We also planted a garden in the back yard- I'm pumped for some tomatoes and cucumbers soon!
We also live 3.5 hours away from DC so decided to get away for our 3rd anniversary. And we beat all of the DC traffic by biking everywhere. It was great!
We also live 3 hours from Philly and went down there for a couple days. Saw some art,
ate some donuts,
and of course played in the splash pad in front of city hall. Flint is a huge splash pad fan. And if you haven't noticed- he is walking now! He literally started walking (as in using it for his main way of moving) when we got to PA. Something in the air here I guess.
Our last hoorah before Ben starts on Monday was spent on the New Jersey beach yesterday. These pictures are a little deceiving though. Flint hated the sand. We convinced him to sit in it for a few minutes here and there, but overall he hated it. And he HATED the ocean. I think it was because the water was kind of cold. Who knows. Babies amiright? It was still a very fun day and Flint was perfectly content to sit on his towel and just dig in the sand with his hands. (Just no feet!) And it was only 70 degrees and overcast so we basically had the entire beach to ourselves. It was awesome. Definitely happy about living so close to a beach.
So life is good so far. I might feel differently in a month or so once the reality of being married to a medical resident sets in, but that's yet to be seen. I guess with Ben being gone all of the time, I will have lots more time to blog! haha... we will see ;)
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