Keepin It Real Thursday: Med School is OVER?!?!?!

I have so much keepin it real material that I could make this the world's longest post, but instead I'm going to focus on the fact that Monday Matt FINISHED medical school.  The only thing we have left to do is watch him graduate. 

Med school, oh med school, you were the ultimate reason we've been keepin it real for the last four years.  Let's recap.

First year: You sucked.  Matt was an English major in undergrad so to say that he was a little overwhelmed  by his first year of medical school would be an understatement.  It was grueling and smelly (too many hours in the gross lab!!), and I fine tuned my counseling skills by offering around the clock mental health for Matt.  We didn't have a child or all that much responsibility, but it was one of the most exhausting years of this process.

Second year was actually a lot better.  I felt like Matt had med school figured out and was finally feeling confident. Apparently we were feeling good enough to think that we should try to have a baby...you know just to add a little more fun (and chaos) to the mix! And then Step 1 (first part of the licensure process) drew closer and closer and we were back to keepin it all too real in our home again.  Wow. Step 1. You sucked too. 

Third year kicked off with surgery, and we were going to bed at 7 pm and waking up at 3-4am (well really just Matt was waking up...I think I was sleeping like 12 hours a night).  August brought darling baby John and Matt's family medicine rotation.  I'd say it was a pretty good month.  The next few months were filled with great joy and total panic as we figured out how to balance family life, med school, and my work. It was probably the most trying time in Matt and I's marriage thus far, but it seems like such a distant memory now. I'm usually right about things (haha...I mean I am though), and I always told Matt that third year would be his year.  It was. He blossomed into an almost doctor right before my very own eyes, and I could tell he loved what he was doing.

And now we're wrapping up year number 4. Fourth year was supposed to be the laid back/no stress year.  I haven't exactly found that to be the case.  Interviews, Match Day, and planning a move haven't been carefree and light for me, but they have been excititng.  I look at Matt all the time in awe of the fact that in 21 days, he'll be an MD.  My Matt!?!?!?  The one who was going to be a famous musician...or a great poet...or perhaps an English professor...or maybe work for wildlife and fisheries...the one who wanted to get a job at SMOOTHIE KING after his first year of medical school instead of doing something clinical because he's always wanted to work for smoothie king and he felt this was his only chance?! Yep. That Matt is now the best father and husband and in DAYS from now will be given the title "doctor" which is one that he deserves more than I can say.  He has worked so hard and given so much of himself to get to this point.  I'm not totally sure that I can fully comprehend where we are, but I can comprehend that it's huge and that I'm hugely proud of him.

Have we only been married for almost 5 years?

We married and honeymooned.

We completed graduate school in Hattiesburg.

We buried Matt's dad and hurt the deepest of hurts.

We bought a house and moved to Jackson!

We started med school.

We welcomed a baby!

We made great, great friends! (and many more who are not in this picture)

And our circle kept growing and growing... (you'd think they'd teach the basics of reproduction to these medical students?)

And now we've matched and we're off on another great adventure!