Last Day of First Year

George is currently taking his final exam of the first year! I can't believe that this day is here! It seems like we just moved here, and that school just started, and that he cannot possibly be 1/4 of the way done with medical school already. This year has gone by so quickly, with the exception of the first three months that seemed to drag on forever while George was taking anatomy, and while I was not comfortable enough with anything here to feel remotely "at home". It is better now. George seems more comfortable with school and with the workload. He doesn't seem to get as stressed out about exams, and he really seems to be enjoying what he is doing...if it's not a test week. I am happier because my husband is happy. I have some friends now, and I have a bit of a routine. I still desperately miss the West: our family and friends, the mountains, the coast, stunning nature within minutes of my front door. Sigh.

However, I do feel more at home here. We came to medical school together knowing it would be hard work, hoping things would work out, and also having many misgivings about how life would be for us here. We happened to end up in a place where there are many young couples in exactly our situation, a place where we have many people to be good friends with, and for that I am eternally grateful. This whole experience would be infinitely more difficult if it weren't for my little support system of George's classmates' wives. We can be each other's families while our real families are all hundreds of miles away, and we can keep each other company while our husbands are working hard and are otherwise unavailable to us.

For example, this test George is currently slaving through is an accumulative Pathology exam. He took a Pharmacology exam two days ago, and he has been studying for weeks to cram the vast quantity of information into his head. Absolutely brutal! Test weeks are difficult because there is so much studying to do. I know it is more difficult for George than for me because he is the one actually having to put in all the work. I'm grateful that George is a hard-worker, but I get a bit stir-crazy when I haven't talked to him in days. So while he was studying last night, I went out with my good friends, Maggie & Bonnie. We got out of our houses and wandered around Target. It sounds like such a boring thing to do, but it was fabulous! I love my friends here, and I honestly don't know what I would do without them.

I am excited to spend some time with my husband after this test is over. And he is excited to sleep and to do non-medically-related things. I think a picnic and a trip to the park are in order today, if the weather allows it. And then we have eleven weeks of glorious, glorious Summer! George will still be working, but I'm counting on my assumption that there will be no late-night homework, no weekend studying, and no test weeks!