Hello, hello.

Good morning! Just gonna jump right in here: Since my last post, some ish has hit the fan. That day and the last week have consisted of some incredibly hard days. It's been a rough week. 
This is the longest I've gone without blogging in quite a bit, and while it wasn't on purpose, I just couldn't bring myself to hop back on here and post a Christmas list or Amazon haul or a weekend update when it felt like the world was on fire around me, you know? I couldn't bring myself to write a pep talk about how gratitude can change our perspective when I just felt like crying. It felt inauthentic. 
I always strive to be authentic around here, and while I'm not going to air all sorts of details that have no business floating around the internet, I want to be real and say hey, I've had a really bad week. Things have sucked. I've been really tired and really sad and really angry and all sorts of emotions over the last week and a half. 
So on the off chance that you've had a hard week, or you've been walking through some tough stuff, you're not alone. That feels good to know sometimes. 
The last twelve days have taught me an immense amount about two big things, and I just wanted to share those. 
First, I've learned this: It does not matter how happy you are striving to be, or how much you practice gratitude, or how hard you are working at seeing the good in everything...sometimes you are going to be sad. And that is okay. 
I talk so much about perspective and gratitude and how life is short so we should be happy. And while I truly believe all of that, there are also going to be times where life happens without your consent, where things get hard no matter how thankful you are, where no matter how much happiness you've been working towards, you're just gonna be sad. And that. is. okay. 
It's okay to be sad. It's okay to just let yourself feel a little bit broken and hurt and overwhelmed. You can't stay there forever, of course, but it's okay to let yourself feel what you're feeling for a little while. You don't have to hop right up and make the best of it every single day. 
This has also taught me an immense amount about friendships and the people you let in your life.  A friend texted me this last week: "I'm not with you, I'm in front of you. I'm gonna catch as much of this for you as I can. I'm going to take whatever hits I can to make sure they don't get to you."
I'm going to make a bold statement, and maybe it's just because of the emotion of the last few days, but I stand by it: If your friends would not immediately jump to be on your side during a crisis, you do not need to be sharing your life with them. 
There's a difference between casual friendship and sharing your life with someone. If you wanna be casual friends with someone who keeps you at an arm's length and avoids your texts for a few days because it's less awkward for them, well, you do you. But the ones who answer their phone when you forget the time difference and accidentally call them at 3:00AM, the ones who are texting you hourly checking in even though you're not texting back, the ones who send you expensive flowers even though they can't afford them...those are the ones who deserve to be sharing your life. 
Choose well. I certainly have. 
Happy Monday. Thanks for caring enough to read my words and notice when they're missing. That means a lot a lot. Now, let's all please have such a good week, okay? Okay.

More & Less: 2017 vs. 2018.

I love New Year's goals, but I always approach them differently. Sometimes I spend weeks thinking about them, sometimes I come up with a list on January 1st. Sometimes I'm extremely detailed, sometimes I just have a general idea of what I want. 
This year, I wasn't feeling like setting specific goals. Instead, I wanted to look back at the last year. I wanted to try my best to pinpoint when I felt my happiest and when I didn't feel much happiness. The things I did that made me feel my best, I want more of those. The things that caused me to feel less than great, I want less of those. 
So that's my take on 2018. More & Less. 
M O R E
Yoga. Looking at 2017, every time I got into the habit of doing yoga, I felt better. Physically and mentally. So this one is a no-brainer. 
Passion. I touched on this here. I don't want to just make it through my days. I want to feel passionate about things. 
Travel. I got to travel a lot last year, and it was amazing. Here's my take on that: For me (because I am responsible for another human), it takes a little bit of time to plan. But that's time I could have easily spent doing something like watching TV. It takes a little bit of money. But the money I spent on gas or plane tickets, I could have easily spent on eating out or buying new clothes I didn't need. Traveling always made me happier, always left me feeling refreshed. Those are things I want more of in 2018. 
Writing. Outside of blog posts, I didn't write too much in 2017. But the times I did (like here), it made me feel alive and passionate and excited. I need more of that this year. 
Reading. 2017 was a pretty slow reading year for me (Jack learned to walk this year, so my free time went down by about 24829%), but I read a lot the last week of December. It makes me happy, plain and simple. I want 2018 to be a happy year, so more books, please. 
Time outside. Beach days, boat days, pool days. These made me happy last year. I was made to be by the water, I think. Another thing I did last year was take Jack for a walk (that I slowly tried to turn into a run) every morning. The days I got moving and got fresh air always seemed to go better than the days that I didn't. So more of that. 

L E S S
Assuming people's motives. I. Am. So. Bad. About. This. SO BAD. If someone doesn't respond to my text, I immediately assume they're mad at me. If someone says they're having a bad day, I immediately assume I did something that made them have a bad day. That's ridiculous, I know it's ridiculous, you know it's ridiculous. Yet I did a lot of that last year. This year, I want to assume the best, or at the very least, assume that if something is wrong, someone will tell me, I don't have to make it up in my head.
Planning ahead. This is a weird thing to set a goal of doing less of, I know. But the phase of life I'm in, it's nearly impossible to plan ahead. And the times I did try to plan ahead last year often left me feeling stressed or disappointed, and I want less of that. So I want to embrace this season of spontaneity and not worry so much about plans. 
Doing things I don't want to do simply because I feel like I have to. Plain and simple. Life is too short for this.
Guilt. At the beginning of the fall, I had one of the best weekends of my life visiting my best friend and going to see our favorite band live. It was absolutely amazing. The following week, someone who reads my blog sent me a long and detailed email about how I would look back and deeply regret that weekend (and any other travels I did over the next 16 years) because I chose to spend it away from Jack. I knew that weekend left me feeling happy and refreshed. I knew I needed it. I knew that 95% of the time, I spend 24 hours a day with Jack. But I still let that email from a perfect stranger make me feel so guilty. And it's impossible to feel guilt and joy at the same time. This year, I choose joy. 
Negativity. I am an extremely positive person by nature, but 2017 tested that. Looking back, the times I gave in and was just negative in my thoughts and words, it didn't help anything. In fact, it made me feel worse. I want less of that for sure. 
This isn't a comprehensive list by any means. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's just the beginning for me and my year. But I really like the idea of approaching a year by knowing what I want more of and what I want less of. It helps me see what I should say no to and what deserves a yes. It helps me know what I should spend my time on. 
What do you want more and less of this year?

Halfway Through Intern Year: Some Honest Thoughts.

In case you're new here: My husband graduated medical school in May and we moved to Gainesville for him to start surgery residency. Intern year in surgery is supposedly the worst thing ever, blah blah blah, okay now you're up to speed. 
I've promised to write honestly in this space about the things I know about. I wrote honestly about what it was like to have an unplanned pregnancy (I still get mean emails about that, by the way), about what it was like waiting for Match Day and being married to a med student. etc. I'll write honestly about parenthood and residency and any other thing I experience. There's no sense in making something out to be rainbows and butterflies if it's not, and there's no point in going along with a negative stereotype if it's untrue. 
So, in the spirit of all that honesty, I thought I'd give a little update about life halfway through Chris' intern year. 
It is both somehow worse than and way better than I expected. Chris is the greatest dad. When Jack was born, he was on a break between school and residency and he did everything. He woke up at night with me, washed Jack's bottles, cooked us dinner, everything. We were 50/50 co-parents and it was wonderful. So I say intern year was worse than I expected because no matter how you try, there's no way you can actually prepare yourself for going from having an all-in partner to months where you see said partner for a (very sleepy, groggy) hour a day and suddenly everything else falls to you. It's tough. 
But it's also been better than I expected. There have been months where I've seen him way more than I thought. We've gone to the beach and to Universal. We got to celebrate Christmas. We get date nights and can have people over. This weekend we went to church and brunch and then built a firepit in our backyard. I did not expect to ever be able to have those kinds of weekends, and that's a really nice surprise. 
Take everything you hear with a grain of salt (even this). I cannot count the number of times I have heard someone say how having kids during intern year is the worst decision ever. Sometimes someone will actually say this to my face before their brain registers the fact that the baby I am currently holding is probably mine, and that's always awkward. 

I think having a baby this year has been awesome. He's kept me so busy! Now, if I didn't have a baby, would I think this was a good year to do that? Absolutely not. Point is, everyone is doing what they think is best, and that's the advice they want to pass on to others. Some of that will be great advice, and some of that will be great for them, but not for you. Smile and say thank you and then do what you think is best. 
Not everyone will understand, and that's okay. This one has been harder than I expected. I think we just all want someone to understand what we're going through, and it's frustrating when friends or even family don't understand. I have friends outside the medical world who don't understand why I can't say yes or no to dinner that weekend because I have no idea what Chris' schedule will be. We've had family get upset that we can't come to a birthday party. It is what it is, not everyone will understand and that's okay. Be irritated and then move on. But this brings us to...
You have to find your people. I'll be honest, I hit the jackpot on this one. I've made a friend who lives two streets over from me who's husband is also in intern year. Having someone who does understand does wonders for your sanity. One of the first times she was over for dinner I got a phone call with news that literally brought me to my knees, and instead of being awkward and polite she went into crisis mode with me and asked, "What do you need? Here, I'll watch Jack. Do you need me to drive you somewhere?" Because she understood that just because I got bad news didn't mean Chris could just decide to not go in to work the next day. 
Find someone like that. I know making new friends is hard. I know it's awkward to step out of your comfort zone. But whether you're married to an intern or you have some other sort of stressful lifestyle, find someone who understands. It makes a world of difference.
No year is all bad or all good. This is something Steph said to me in regards to 2016, and it really rang true for me in relation to intern year. Have there been some very sucky parts to the last six months? Absolutely. But have we made some really great memories in between those? Yes. Will I be glad when it's over? For sure! But will I write the year off as a waste? Not in a million years. It's been a year with my family, and no matter what, that is a blessing.
One day at a time. When all else fails, take it one day at a time. At the beginning, I decided I would take things one rotation (four weeks) at a time. That got too hard, so I switched to one week at a time, and here we are at one day at a time. You can handle anything for one day. 
Is your life anything like this? I want to hear your honest thoughts, too!

Two Months in Gainesville.

Two months of being homeowners (SO ADULT) and it still feels like a dream. Sure, in this dream we are also exhausted and overworked (Chris, not me) and have a teething baby, but STILL. We have a house. LIVING THE DREAM. 
I still get all teary-eyed when I think back to the weeks leading up to Match Day, how I wanted to match in Gainesville so badly, but was afraid to let myself even consider the possibility. Because we all know if you really want something, there's no way you're getting it, right? No idea why I think like this. 
Fast forward to now, waking up in a perfect little house in our perfect little city. I still feel like I'm on vacation in a new place, but I know it will just continue to feel more and more like home. 
Waking up and going to this beautiful yellow corner to get a cup of coffee and then having my choice of rooms to drink it in is a far cry from waking up in our studio and walking to the kitchen (which was actually just part of the den which was actually just part of the bedroom) and having the choice of either drinking it in bed or in the one chair we had. 

I'm just overflowing with thankfulness over here. I thought I'd share some of my favorite things about my new life in my new city. 

Skies like this. It's not a big city, so there aren't tons of building and lights. Meaning that the sunsets are stunning and the stars are clear and it's just beautiful. 

Having an outside area that's all ours. That hammock is my happy place.

This little munchkin having his own room. Jack having his own room to nap in has been a GAMECHANGER. 

Having room to workout in my living room. And by workout, I mean roll my yoga mat out and quickly have it swiped by Gatsby, who's napping needs are more important.

An excuse for DIYs. Mourn with me for a second...I bought an unfinished dresser so I could paint and stain it the colors I had in mind. It. Took. So. Long. And it was like, a thousand degrees outside while I was doing it. It was waaaay more work than I had in mind. But I did it! And I loved how it looked in Jack's room....for a whole two weeks before Ikea recalled it because it was literally killing kids. Now all my hard work is hidden away in a closet. 

Being able to get all of Jack's books out of storage! My baby shower was a "bring a book instead of a card" one. It's been so fun to get to read these to him!

Like I said, overflowing with thankfulness. 

There are phases in life where you just stop and say thank you, and this is one of them for me. I'm so thankful we're here, I'm so thankful for this house, I'm so thankful for my family. Life is busy and sometimes a little hard, but it is so, so good. 

What's making you thankful lately?

Feeling So Thankful For The Last Four Years.

GUYS. In fifteen days, Christopher will graduate from medical school. Two weeks from tomorrow, he becomes a doctor. A real life, actual, M.D. doctor.

I'm feeling a lot of the things I expected to be feeling: Relief that these four years are over, excitement for the next stage, sentimentality for the places we've gone and the people we've met over the last four years. But one thing I'm feeling that I didn't really expect is overwhelming thankfulness.

Thankful that we've made it through alive (just kidding) (but only a little bit), but also just thankful for the whole experience of the last four years. It's been really hard at times, but it is truly an honor to get to stand beside the one you love while they get to make their dreams happen.

Before now, I probably would have laughed (or actually just rolled my eyes) at anyone who said being married in medical school is hard. It's school, for goodness sake!

But it's not! Med-school is a full-time job, and full-time school, and boards, and tests, and studying, and surgery, and basically belonging to someone else for four years. All while finding the time to apply for residency and go on interviews and oh, that little thing called Match Day.

Save for the first semester, we were married for the entirety of med school, so I've had a front row seat to all of it. There have been hard days and easy days and exciting days and boring days. There were nights where I would both go to sleep and wake up before he finished a single shift at the hospital. So while old me may have rolled my eyes at you saying your husband is in med-school and it's hard, the four-years-later me wants to hug you and buy you a drink.

I feel like everyone can say they've grown up over the last four years, because four years is a really long time. But I've grown so much, both in ways I expected and in ways I didn't expect. In big, important ways, and in silly ways. For example: The first year of school, I would walk into a room where Chris was studying and see pictures of infected man-junk and scream because my poor little eyes were scarred for life. Now, a textbook can be left out open on a nasty infectious picture for days and my first reaction is, ugh, so much studying and not oh my gosh what is that awful picture get it OUT. See? Growing up leaps and bounds over here.

While I know I will always look back on these as some of the hardest years of my life, I also know they have been the best years of my life.

So cheers to the last four years. They made me a wife, they made me a mom, they made me a person I'm proud of, and they made Chris a doctor. And I am incredibly thankful for them.

Let's Have Coffee.

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that house hunting is both exciting and terrifying. And that it moves quickly and slowly at the same time. The thought of committing to one house for such a long time is a little bit scary and a whole lot thrilling. I can't wait to make a house ours. I'm so excited to decorate it with bright colors and pictures and not worry about what I'm allowed to paint or hang on the wall. It's going to be so much fun.

I'd probably show you my planner and tell you that it's the best one I've ever used. It's completely customizable and is so much fun to use. It's called The Happy Planner, and it's very aptly named. I love waking up and drinking coffee and jotting things down in it. I'm a planner junkie, so trust me when I say: You need one. 

Also speaking of things you need, I got this Journaling Bible and it's gorgeous. You should be able to use creativity in all areas of your life, even when it comes to in reading the Bible.

I'd tell you that there are 23 days until Chris graduates and becomes an actual doctor. This fills me with more pride and excitement than I even know how to put into words. It's such a huge, massive accomplishment that's been so long in the making, it doesn't even feel real yet. I'm so excited for him and I'm so excited for us and I'm just so freaking excited. 

With new beginnings so close...a new house and a new city and a new phase of life...I feel so inspired. There's so much potential that comes with fresh starts. On that note, I'm learning that it's one hundred percent possible to be overwhelmed and inspired and exhausted and happy and stressed and content all at the same time. I think it's called being a mom. 

What's new with you?

Four More Weeks.

Four weeks. That's how long lies between us and finding out what the rest of our life looks like.

That sounds a bit dramatic, and really, it is. There will be a ceremony and someone will hand Chris a box, and inside of that box will be an envelope with one of 18 cities listed inside of it-the city where we will be relocating and starting the next big part of our life. Chris will stand in a circle with all 100+ of the other med-school students in his class, and with everyone's family and friends looking on, they will all open their boxes at the exact same time.

So yeah, a little bit dramatic.

Match Day. Everything has been leading up to this. Chris' undergrad, applying to and choosing where to go for med-school, away rotations, long shifts at the hospital, applying and traveling and interviewing for residency spots...the last 7+ years have all come down to this. A moment that I will share with approximately 400 other people as I find out what that little box has to say about our future.

A big part of me is excited-a new city, a new house, new adventures. I'm so proud of Chris, who has worked SO hard to get here. I'm so excited for him to get to start his journey has a doctor. For him to truly get to begin his career. I'm excited to see what life will look like in our new place.

A smaller (but perhaps louder) part of me is absolutely terrified. Knowing that I could end up in a town a few hours away or a town across the whole country and not having any indication which one it's going to be doesn't do much to relax me, you know?

Until we find out, I'm taking comfort in the fact that the things about me that I love are moveable. I'm a wife and a blogger and a mom and a writer, and I can be those things from anywhere. There isn't a corner of the whole world I could move to that my parents wouldn't come visit, because I'll have their grandchild with me. I'm trying to have tender roots (a concept I learned from my friend Yelle) that can be picked up and planted anywhere. I'm trying to remember all that stuff I said last year about learning to love the unknown.

The bottom line is this: I'm excited and I'm terrified and I'm proud and I'm sad, and in four weeks, none of that will matter, because the piece of paper on the inside of that envelope on the inside of that box is going to say what it's going to say. To me, that is equal parts freeing and maddening.

Four weeks. Twenty-eight days. Until then, I'll be haphazardly balancing somewhere between relaxing and enjoying the moment and wildly panicking about the upcoming news.

Stay tuned.

It's Different, But it's Good.

I made Halloween plans around a year in advance for this Halloween. The second Taylor Swift released her tour dates and I saw that she was going to be in Florida on Halloween, I knew that’s what I would be doing. Because one, Taylor. Duh. And two, seeing Taylor with everyone dressed up and dancing around in costumes...hello, magic. 

I’m trying to think of another way to phrase this next part other than “and then I got pregnant” because I hate when people say things like that to me, like my life is worse because I had sex and it resulted in a human life. But in this case, the phrase fits..."and then I got pregnant."

So I’m not seeing Taylor on Saturday. Because dropping $200 to spend the night dancing around in a costume when you’re in a "wild and free and you only live once" phase and dropping $200 to spend the night dancing around in a costume when you’re in an “about to have a baby” phase are two very, very different things. 

This isn’t to say, “well, life didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, bummer.” It’s to say, life is way different than I thought it would be a year ago. And it’s good. 

I wasn't dancing the night away with Taylor on Saturday. Instead, I was celebrating the last day of October by freezing my face off and seeing actual fall leaves. The last weekend in October found me catching frostbite by Lake Eerie and exploring cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati and Indianapolis, places I never knew I wanted to see. 

Last Halloween, Chris got off work early (a rare occurrence) and we celebrated by getting queso and margaritas for lunch. This year, he didn't have to work at all (pure bliss) because we're on the residency hunt. But since I've got a baby hanging out in me for another 11 weeks, we celebrated with apple cider instead. 

Last Halloween was fun. Getting margaritas in the middle of the day with my husband, getting dressed up and going out with my friends, it was all so fun. It was a fun season. It was great. Seeing Taylor Swift end her tour on Halloween? That would have been incredibly fun. 

But traveling and seeing new places and exploring towns I haven't yet gotten the chance to fall in love with? That was perfect. Being equal parts terrified and excited while trying to imagine a life in one of these towns with my tiny family was a magical way to spend the weekend. 

On Halloween this year, we had lunch in Indianapolis. We were finishing up when a couple with a baby dressed up as a pumpkin sat at the table next to us. They ordered beers and laughed with each other and showed off their little pumpkin who waved at everyone in the restaurant. They were clearly having the best Halloween ever with the people that were the most important to them, and seeing that made my heart feel so full. Because maybe next year I'll be sitting at a table, having a beer and talking about life with Chris while we laugh at our little guy, dressed up like a pumpkin. 

So life is different now. More different that I could have imagined at this time last year. But it is so, so good. 

I'll catch you next tour, Taylor. 

Stopping to Take it All In: Med School Update.

As of a few week ago, we turned in all of Chris' residency applications. After so long (years, really!) of talking about what he wanted to specialize in and where we wanted to live and a million other details, it seemed so weird and amazing and final.

Christopher has started to get interview offers, and it seems so surreal. Each time he gets an offer, I feel like my heart just might explode with pride and happiness and all sorts of emotions (even the ones that are in the freezing cold lands of Wisconsin). For every email I see come through (the offers come via email), I just think, we did that. All of our work up to this point has been for this. 

Small side note: Yes, I do realize Chris is the one working hard in med-school and not me, no need to be rude and bring that to my attention. But like I said, we're a team. The past four years has included a heck of a lot of teamwork, and it's all been for this. 

Every night shift where Chris didn't get to sleep and I stayed awake trying to convince myself there wasn't a serial killer hiding in my closet, that was for this. Every time his alarm went off at 3:00 AM and he had to get dressed in the dark because he wanted me to sleep. Every time he had to miss out on something fun. Every time he would come home to take me on a date, only to get called back in to work. It's like every interview that comes in is saying, hey, you did it. It was worth it. And I am so proud of us. I'm proud of Chris, I'm proud of myself, I'm proud of our marriage. We did it, and it was worth it. 

There's plenty more to look forward to. Match Day (March 18th), graduation (May 20th), and starting a job (Job! Not School! YES!) in a new city with a new house and a tiny new family. But for now, I'm just savoring this season. A season of anticipation and hope, a season of seeing how all of our hard work is starting to pay off, a season having so many big things hovering, but just enjoying the now. 

I'm a part of this online group of Doctors' wives, and it has members from wives of med-students all the way to wives of doctors who have been working for decades. The ones who have med-school and residency long behind them use the hashtag #itgetsbetter when they post about certain things, and it's like a reminder to those who are still early on in their journey to hang in there, it gets better. 

I totally believe it gets better. I know there will be a day when Chris has a work schedule that includes a normal amount of hours and a much larger paycheck. I know there will be a day where I won't have to work if I don't want to. Where we'll be able to buy a house. Where dinner together won't seem like a luxury. So yeah, I know, it will get better. 

But you know, it's also pretty good now. All of those things will be wonderful whenever they happen, but I don't need them to be happy. I'm happy now, in this season we're in. So I'm going to savor it, every last second.

Today is Big.

This weekend was magical. I spent it with Christopher in Birmingham, Alabama, and had the best time ever. Now, Alabama isn't really somewhere that comes to mind when I think about what the best weekend ever looks like, but because of who I got to spend it with, it really was the best.

Today is a big day. It's the day that all of the applications for residency programs are due. As of 9:00 this morning, all of our choices will be in. All of our research and trying to decide where to apply and where we might want to live is over. All of Chris' hard work over the past 4 years has been for this. And once he submits his applications, he's done all he can do. It now moves into hands off and pray like crazy that you get some interviews.

The trip to Birmingham was because it's a potential place to live next year. Again, not really at the top of my list, but at this point, I'm trying to have an open mind. Since, apparently, I am not in charge of how everything turns out for everyone. If only.

When I got to Alabama, I had the best time. The weather was perfect, the parks were perfect, the food was perfect, hanging out with Christopher and dreaming/freaking out/discussing our future was perfect. 

And most of all, the timing was perfect. Because on a day like today--one that holds so much significance and finality--it would be easy to freak out (of course I will) and worry that we didn't apply to the right places and start making a list of the only places I will be happy living. 

But instead, I'm just going to think of Alabama. And how no, I don't really want to live there. But if I had to, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It wouldn't even be close. It would be the best, because of who I get to live there with. 

So today is big. It kicks off the biggest, scariest, most adventurous season yet. But after this weekend, I just have a feeling that no matter what schools call about interviews, or how many interviews he goes on, or where we actually match, life is going to be really, really beautiful. 

"Home, let me go home. Home is wherever I'm with you."

Life Updates: Match Day, I See You.

After some questions on Monday's post, I realized that while I mention bits and pieces about med-school, I don't ever really talk about it in terms that apply to me. And I thought, well that sounds like a good blog post.

While I am not in med-school, it is a huge part of my life. I met Chris when I was 15, we started dating when I was 17, we got engaged at 19 (I know, I know, it's young), and married when I was twenty. We got married on his break during his first year of school, so our entire marriage has involved med-school. Because of this I feel like I have a pretty good perspective of it. One of these days I'll blog about all the ins and outs that would have been nice to know beforehand, but until then, if you have any questions--I'm your gal.

But, about where we're at now: Medical School is four years long. Chris is in his fourth year (#PRAISES) now. He's finished all of his tests and is now just finishing out the year working different rotations in different hospitals/clinics/etc.

By September, he has to have all of his applications for residency programs in. He'll go on interviews from November-January (which I'm kind of looking at as a bunch of cross country road trips...yes please.) and then comes match day.

Match day is a cruel and unusual punishment. Everywhere that Chris goes on an interview, he ranks. 1-5 or 1-100, they all get ranked. These places also rank Chris. Instead of just saying, "Hey, we like you!" Or, "Mmmm, not gonna work out!" Everything just stays a big secret. Until match day.

Chris will "match" with the program that he ranks and that ranks him that matches up closest. And because a simple phone call informing him of this would be too painless easy, some sadist invented match day.

Everyone in the entire class finds out where they match on this day. Together. All at the same time. They're given envelopes to open in front of everyone's friends and family. All together. At. The. Same. Time.

Again, a brutal system.

Right now, life is just a big, anxious, exciting adventure. Because on March 18th, we'll find out where we'll be moving and starting the next phase of the adventure. The planning side of me says that this is unacceptable, the hippie side of me is excited for a surprise and a new place to explore.

Anyway, it's a day that's four years in the making. And whatever place is written on the inside of that envelope, it's an adventure waiting to happen.

I hope that explains a little bit better about exactly where we are in the journey. And boy, is it a journey. But, my partner's pretty cute, so I'll take it.

Have any of you ever experienced a match day, or anything like it?