Springtime 2017

After marathon weekend, we headed to one of our favorite places: Acadia National Park. It rained for most of the week, but we hiked during the few dry(er) hours of the day and headed indoors when necessary. We hit up our favorites around Acadia: hiking the Beehive, wandering Sand Beach, biking around Seawall, checking out the top of Cadillac (unfortunately not as impressive when surrounded by rain clouds!), hiking and looking for crabs at Little Moose Island.

 This is where we headed when it really poured out: the local YMCA. A family day pass was quite affordable, so we went swimming, played basketball, and played on the indoor playground.

This spring we have spent a fair amount of time watching K at her track meets. She runs the 100, 200, and 400 meters and does the long jump and high jump. She ran the 800 meters once but was not a big fan of the distance. She made it to the regional meet in the 200 meters and with her 4 x 100-meter relay team, so we came along as cheerleaders.

 A few women from church and I organized a fundraiser for the International Institute of New England, a local agency that helps refugees resettle. We raised $3,000 at the silent auction, which included such lovely offerings like the doggie play date pictured above. Phoebe and another boy engaged in a bidding war, but Phoebe came out on top and scored a play date with Goose the Dog. For a few hours, we walked and fed Goose. Both the dog and Phoebe were very happy.

 May is birthday month at our house. We celebrated Bruce and Oliver's birthdays with a party at the city pool. I didn't get a single picture because I was in the pool the whole time, but the kids had a blast. Above is the only evidence from that party: the Bat-man cake. We celebrated their actual birthdays a week later. Now Oliver thinks he has two birthdays a year.

This happened: Scott officially graduated from his radiology residency at MGH! The end is near: we have two years left of fellowship! The hours can be grueling, but hey what's new?!! We are just so glad we live near the hospital so Scott does not have a long commute and the kids can actually see him. We are so so so blessed. Having K live with us is a blessing too: last week Scott was on-call but at home. We managed to sneak in a spontaneous date by going to a restaurant a block away while having K watch the kids (she's always happy to earn a little extra money). Thankfully, Scott didn't get called in during our date. Gotta take the opportunities when they come!

I wrote a story about a cool place to run around Boston and took pictures at a race that was located there. I brought Phoebe and Oliver with me to cover the story and they enjoyed the festivities.

 It almost felt like summer...

 ...but it has been a very rainy cool spring. It has been in the 50s-60s this week, but I have a 50K planned for this weekend, so of course it's going to be 75 degrees and sunny. This is my first real ultra (unless you count this) that I am planning to race rather than just finish. I feel like I am ready for the distance, but I'm a little nervous about all the trails. I ran a trail 5K last weekend and came out with a huge scratch and bruise on my arm from colliding with a tree while barreling downhill. Still, I won and got the course record by a minute. I'm hoping to stay on my feet, not break anything, and run fast this weekend.

We survived Nights.

 

 Happy New Year! You probably thought you have been written off the Christmas card list, but you would be wrong. The real reason is that the end of our year got a little crazy. I simplified things and put the card thing on hold. You may just get a valentine this year. And one more reason to postpone cards: the photo above is our only family photo from this year. Selfie with 'staches. Awesome.

 Scott worked four straight weeks of night shifts, which put a damper on family life. The only good thing about nights was that Scott and Oliver had a big breakfast every morning (after Bruce and Phoebe went to school and before Scott went to bed for the day). They enjoyed their "second breakfast" together.

One morning, I woke up at 6 a.m. to Oliver running across my bedroom floor. He tripped right before he got to my bed, face-planted into the sideboard, and started howling. I turned on the light and there was blood everywhere. The bottom of his nostril had a nasty cut, so I packed the kids into the car for Oliver's First ER visit. Scott just happened to be working in the emergency department, so we got to say hello. Oliver didn't need stitches, which I guess is good but I felt dumb for bringing him in. The kids were happy to see Scott and happy to make it to school on-time and eat breakfast at the school cafeteria, so perhaps it wasn't so bad after all.

All in all, I am sooooooo glad those nasty night shifts are over. I need someone to put my cold feet on at night.

Graduation: the longer version.

Graduation already seems so far away; it was more than a week ago, and so much has happened since then. We have been looking forward to graduation for so long that it needs to be documented here. I think on the sidebar, May 24 was noted as "the end of the world as we know it" for a few months (I finally took that down today). Yes, the world of student life has ended for us. We have been students for all of our married life and, while it has its advantages (tax breaks, theoretically more flexible time than the average corporate job, most holidays off, serious character building, etc.) I am happy to move on. We are ready for a new beginning.

Back to Commencement...

Scott's parents and brother as well as my parents came to celebrate the day with us. It started early for me: I ran to Harvard Yard to scope out the scene at 5:30 a.m. I only saw a handful of people lined up, so I didn't think any drastic measures like camping out were necessary. I ran my last run with Anna, my running partner of at least a year who I've run thousands of miles with. She is spending the summer in Japan and I'm not looking forward to the silent miles for the next few months.

Scott's dad and mom and brother, my parents, Bruce and Phoebe, and Scott and I headed to Harvard Yard around 6:30. By then, the handful of people had turned into a crazy mob. The morning commencement was a ticketed event and each grad was only allowed two tickets, so Scott's mom Valerie and I attended while the rest of the party took the kids to the park and library.

Valerie and I got through the gate of Harvard Yard and found that the only available seats were in the back where we couldn't see anything. I held two seats while Valerie went in search of something better. She came back successful: she found enough space on the Widener Library stairs. They weren't seats and it wouldn't be comfortable, but at least we could see the graduates march in and see the speakers if we squinted.

The graduates marched in and every proud parent clustered into a mosh pit, elbowing for space to stand and take pictures while security officers nudged people to move on rather than stand in the walkways. Our perch on the stairs was great for people-watching. It was a racially diverse crowd, but it was overwhelmingly affluent: people wore big jewelry and fancy shoes, carried designer handbags, and flaunted perfectly coiffed hair. It reminded me of the red carpet at the Academy Awards - only everyone was packed together and the poor ladies in spiked heels were having more trouble on the soft grass of the Yard.

Valerie and I spotted Scott fairly easily when the medical school graduates marched in. There were about a dozen MD/PhD graduates with red robes and black cushy hats, and Scott is among the tallest. All the other med grads wore black robes and flat black caps. We snapped some great shots of Scott's ear as he marched by...

We sat through the speeches, the conferring of the degrees, and the music. Harvard's commencement has its own traditions: the county sheriff starts and adjourns the meeting wearing a top hat and stomping a tall cane three times (it must be the funnest thing he does all year long), one of the speeches is given entirely in Latin (with translation on the Jumbotron), and every speaker bows to the university president and board of directors before addressing the audience. I thought commencement would be pretty boring, but it was actually quite lively.

After the morning session, we met up with our party for lunch at Q'doba. We opted to skip the med school's luncheon to avoid having the kids make a scene, and showed up at the med school graduation in time to find two seats behind a camera guy's legs, and another cluster of seats near the back of the tent set up on the Harvard Medical School campus.

Once again, we split up but played musical chairs with our seats. I always sat near the front, but had several companions including my dad, Bruce, and Phoebe after she woke up from a nap. The medical school commencement was long. It had the obligatory speeches, but the longest part was the naming and hooding of every individual there. A few of the graduates had kids, and we were told the kids could walk across the stage with their parent. We weren't sure if our kids would make it since Scott was near the end; Bruce was grouchy since the iPod ran out of battery power, and Phoebe told me she needed to poop about five minutes before Scott was supposed to walk across the stage. I opted not to inform Scott of the latter detail until afterward; I suspected she was just bored and wanted an excuse to get out of there.

It could have been a complete disaster: Bruce rolling his eyes and dragging his feet, Phoebe losing her bowels on the stage. But it wasn't. Bruce was happy to be in the spotlight and even stuck out his hand for a few handshakes with important guys. Phoebe held it together and was thrilled to get a present. She and Bruce were given teddy bears with Harvard Medical School tee-shirts. Whew, we made it.

We gathered our group afterward for a few pictures, then headed to dinner at The Friendly Toast. We chatted over good food and reminisced. We finished the day with ice cream cake...

...and then packing bags. My parents came for just one day; I'm sad I didn't get to sit next to them during commencement, but I was so happy to have their support with me not only that day, but throughout the last few years (30 of them, actually). They left the next morning, as did Scott's dad and brother, who were also there for too short a time. Scott's brother needed to get home for his own high school graduation.

Scott and I left the next morning too, leaving Bruce and Phoebe for a week with Grandma Raymond. This epic adventure deserves at least a few posts, so stay tuned.

The end is near.

Tomorrow is the big day. The graduation of graduations. I will try my best to get at least one picture up on the blog tomorrow, but I make no promise. I will also be packing for a relaxing vacation to a remote corner of the globe. And when I get back from that, I promise lots of pictures.

We matched...

...at MGH.

We are staying!

Yea!

Friday Friday Friday...

...is the big day.

Match Day.

It is the day we find out where we will be for the next five years. I will put up a post when we find out, probably around 2-3 p.m. EST.

Weekend Update

Youngest to oldest, here is the latest:

• PHOEBE is growing up! She has been stringing phrases together for awhile, but now she is talking in full sentences and paragraphs. She loves the color pink, picks out her own clothes, loves swimming suits, and has a really funny robust loud laugh. Phoebe just stinkered, laughed at herself, and said, "There's a sheep in my bum. Silly sheep."
  
  
• BRUCE signed up to do a dance in a Cub Scout fundraiser talent show. When it was his turn, he got on stage while I cued the music. He looked out at the crowd, got a look of terror, and ran out in tears; my genes emerge. On a more positive note, Bruce had a few playdates this week and created a lot of cool stuff. Check out his blog soon.
  
  
• EMILY is keeping the kids happy and fed, trying new recipes, and running lots and lots. I ran 75 miles this week, including a rainy 22-mile run where I ran out to Concord with Anna and then took the train home. The treadmill has come in handy this month, but thankfully I don't have to run on the "dreadmill" (as Anna calls it) exclusively.
  
  
• SCOTT started his final rotation in the hospital, this time in the medical ICU. His daily hours aren't too bad (6:30a-6:30p), but he stays overnight every fourth night and comes home exhausted. When he tells me about his day, it usually starts something like this: "This is the saddest story..." He had Saturday off, so we hung out, watched movies, and cleaned the house.
  

The Match

Scott wrapped up all of his interviews, so now it's time to put together our "match list." Scott ranked the programs that he visited, and each program will rank the students they interview. Everyone gets matched according to some magical algorithm that determines our fate. Scary.

Scott has his list, but I have mine too. While Scott's takes into account the training, the people he met on the interview trail, the sharpness of the residents, the hospital's atmosphere, etc., mine takes into account everything from schools to weather to general rumors and preconceived notions. Mine is not as scientific.

We won't be publishing our Match list (too many politics involved), but we'll let you know when we know - March 16.

p.s. we just got an email tonight outlining graduation. It's really coming!

The Return of the Scott

The past two weeks have been a blur. After our super-relaxing Christmas break, Scott's last residency interview trip sneaked up on me. Perhaps it was because it required looking at a whole new (2012) calendar? Or maybe I was in denial that life could get so crazy after being so laid-back? Somehow I just didn't register that Scott was leaving so soon.

Scott headed west and interviewed at four more hospitals. The interviews were spaced apart by a few days, so we could either pay to fly back and forth across the country 2-3 times or Scott could live on the cheap and play a bit between interviews. We chose the latter.

First he headed to San Francisco and interviewed at a few places, hiked the Redwoods, and generally enjoyed the 65-degree weather. He called me when he was hiking and told me how beautiful it was; I envied him as it was 9 degrees that day in Boston.

Next, Scott headed to Salt Lake City for an interview. He stayed with his sister Leslie, who ended up hosting a family reunion (again) as Lana, Nancy, Mark, and his parents came to visit. Scott got a solid dose of mountains and skiing before heading to the next interview in Seattle. He didn't have time to play in Seattle, but said it was actually clear enough to see the mountains when he was there (every time I'm there it's typical Seattle weather - overcast, rainy, depressing).

Scott finally came home after nearly two weeks on the road! He made it back on Saturday morning, just in time for me to pick him up and drive to New Hampshire for a half-marathon. I did this indoor half-marathon last year as it's one of few longish races on a Saturday between now and the Boston Marathon. This year, the organizers moved it from March to January and landed a local beer company as the sponsor. Naturally, it turned into a beer-fest. Perhaps one of the timing officials had a few too many because despite having computer chips on our shoes, they somehow lost track of how many laps we'd run. The track was an odd distance - 317 meters per lap - making it about 69 laps we had to run. I went with the strategy of looking at my watch for the first mile, then not checking at all and trying not to pay attention to the laps so I wouldn't be discouraged by the, "48 laps to go" announcement. I sure wasn't counting. But when I was told I had four laps to go, I was wondering how I could feel so awful and yet run so slow. I went across the finish line at 1:27, my slowest half-marathon ever. Maybe I did eat too many Christmas cookies this year. The results page says 1:26 (and a few days ago, I swear it said 1:23) and says another female wasn't far behind me (even though I passed her at least twice during the race), so I guess I'll never know what my half-marathon time was. I won a six-pack of beer, a shirt with the logo of the beer company, a hat that says "WILL RUN FOR BEER" on it, and a beer bumper sticker. Another runner was happy to take the beer off my hands, and Scott claims he's going to wear the hat sometime. "It's a nice hat," he argued.

We spent the rest of the weekend watching the Patriots pound the Broncos (poor Tebow), facing my needle-phobia by giving blood, going to church, assembling a shelf for Scott's ever-expanding textbook collection, and building a stomp rocket for Bruce.

More setbacks on the family picture front

Setback No. 1: Bruce provoked Phoebe's wrath while she was sitting in a chair. She reached over and pulled his hair. He tried to run away, but her iron fist held tight - pulling her off the chair and face-down on the floor. She busted her nose and bled a lot, traumatizing the sweet teenage babysitter we'd left the kids with. This picture is three days later when the swelling had gone down a bit and the purple hues turned more greenish. Lovely.

Setback No. 2: Scott is out on the interview trail again. This time he is in sunny California, then off to snowy Utah, and then to rainy Washington. His interviews are spaced apart by a few days, but it wasn't worth traveling coast to coast several times, so this is a long trip. A few days ago, it was 11 degrees in Boston (not counting the windchill). Scott called to tell me about the beautiful 65-degree weather in San Francisco and how he was going to hike through the Redwoods. He will get his dose of the cold soon: he is off to Utah next and when he isn't trying to impress the big wigs at the hospital there, he will be skiing with Mark, hanging out with Leslie, meeting Lana's new baby girl, and pressuring Nancy into med school or some other crazy endeavor.

Not slowing down.

Someday I will get back in the habit of biweekly blogging. That will be the day I blow-dry my hair and run a lint roller over my nicely pressed blouse.

For the sake of keeping up with my relatives and fellow blog-stalkers, here is a quick update:

Scott had his first residency interview. He liked Philadelphia and the program at Penn. He called me while he was walking around the city and told me how great it was. I had read somewhere that Philly has one of the highest crime rates in the United States; it even has its own "Crime in Philadelphia" wiki page. While Scott was telling me how great the city was, an emergency vehicle went by with sirens on.

I am busy with the usual: finding a Turkey Trot to race, heckling Bruce to do his homework and resist the urge to write in all caps, taking care of Baby J and Phoebe during the day, and switching our condo's management company (this alone has taken at least a year off my life).

Bruce was Darth Vader for Halloween. He has worn his costume almost every day since purchasing it a few weeks ago. He loved trick-or-treating, but isn't big into candy. He eats one piece a day and will probably still have a pile until Easter replenishes his pile.

Phoebe, on the other hand, has already had two tantrums today (it's 11 a.m.) because she wanted a piece of candy from her bag. She loves candy and will do anything to get it. Phoebe had a cute Little Mermaid costume, but absolutely refused to wear it. She ended up wearing her pajamas and went as a very tired little girl. She pulled it off well.

Photos and updates to come someday...

Why Scott will be a Radiologist

Because he's sane, doesn't work hard, and is afraid of the light?

Thank you bmj.com for the enlightening flow chart.

The head on the table

This week Scott brought home someone's skull to study for his anatomy class. It's a real human skull, which sortof creeps me out. Scott brought home a skull a few years ago for another class and left it on the dining room table until I protested. This time, the skull stayed in its carrying case on the bedroom dresser when Scott wasn't checking out all the little bones and cavities in it. Scott's Step II board exams are in two weeks, so he is studying day and night now.
He did take a little time this weekend for a project he's been wanting to do for awhile: build a computer. He ordered some parts online and is putting together a new PC! Bruce has been helping out. Phoebe has been hindering.

Busy busy busy

"Busy" is the Word of the Month, but it's been a very good busy for us. The above video is of us at the Wizard of Oz exhibit in the Children's Museum; it was actually a little scary, I thought. But the kids loved it. Scott and I took Bruce, Phoebe, and three kid-friends to the museum on Memorial Day.

Scott has an intense anatomy lab this month, which has normal 8-5ish hours - yea! He gets to slice away at a cadaver for the entire month. Last week he did a shoulder repair and some spinal procedures, among other things. I get queasy thinking about chopping at a dead body, but Scott gets starry-eyed and excited. He claims there is no better way to simulate surgery and despite all the slicing and chopping, he has gained a deep respect for the intricacies of the body. Scott said plenty of people donate their bodies to Harvard and that the instructor of the lab said she hears the joke, "I've always wanted to get into Harvard" too often. If anyone wants to get into Harvard, here's one way to do it.

I've been busy keeping up with Phoebe and Baby J during the daytime, walking Bruce to and from school, running early in the mornings, and doing various things at night (condo association board meetings, track practice, writing camera reviews or magazine articles, visiting friends, grocery shopping, etc.). I am gearing up for the USATF-NE 5k this weekend; it'll be my first track race in awhile. My goal is to go under 18 minutes, so wish me luck!

Bruce has school through almost the end of June, and then he will be home with the kiddos for the summer. He has been taking classes after school twice a week - one for swimming and one for "Hot Wheels" (they just play with cars, tracks, and ramps). He has learned to do the backstroke on his own, and jumped in the pool for the first time last week (that's a big step for my timid Bruce). We've been having a weekly playdate with some neighbor kids and Bruce loves to play Legos with other kids at our house, and to play Lego Star Wars on their Wii.

Phoebe is mischievous as ever. She is climbing to new heights and has added a constellation of bruises to her arms and legs. Today her Early Intervention (EI) social worker asked about the bruises:

"Where'd she get those bruises on her arm?"
Me: "Honestly, I don't know. Every five minutes, she climbs something new and falls."
Social worker scratches her head. "Hmm."

But then five minutes later, Phoebe quickly shimmied up to the top of her high chair (from the floor) and turned around and grinned. I got to her before she jumped, but hopefully our social worker saw that Phoebe is totally reckless and not abused.

Phoebe has picked up a ton of words and signs. She has more words (47) than signs (29) now, and is completely caught up. She will be re-evaluated for EI in a few months and I suspect she won't qualify, which will be bittersweet. She learned to say Bruce's name - "Boo-s" - and said her own name for the first time today.

April Fools!

It snowed on April Fools Morn, which was a terrible joke. It then turned to rain for the rest of the day and left a sloshy mess. No more snow please!This is what Scott's schedule does to him these days. He went to the hospital at 6:30 a.m. on Friday and returned at 2 p.m. on Saturday. He wanted to spend time with the kids, so we hit up some parks. He crashed, but it's the thought that counts.

Slacker Blogger Update

It's been awhile since I've posted a real family update, so here's the Reader's Digest version, starting with Phoebe because she is our cover model for this post.

Phoebe is still in a trouble-making phase (hopefully this is just a phase?). It seems no matter how much we childproof, there is always something else dangerous or destructive to find. She is so ridiculously cute though. She loves playing in the leaves on the ground and managed to coat her fuzzy pumpkin Halloween costume in leafy matter, which left trails of leaf crumbs around the house.

Bruce loves school so much. He has a routine that he enjoys every morning. He puts his coat and bag in his cubby, counts objects in a counting jar and writes the number on a post-it note, washes his hands, reads "the morning message," writes his name on the board, answers a "question of the day," and puts his name tag by a symbol representing which table he wants to sit at. Friday's question of the day was, "Who does the dishes at your house?" Bruce answered, "me."

Scott is well into his OB/GYN rotation. The hours are much better than the surgery rotation, and the stories are generally much better. Labor stories never get old. Scott said he would be completely comfortable delivering a baby on an airplane.

I am staying busy keeping Phoebe out of the toilet, getting Bruce off to school, stocking the pantry with snacks for Scott, and reviewing cameras and running when I can. The camera reviews happen when Phoebe naps and Bruce is at school. Right now I'm working on a review of a camera that broke within the first few days of having it. It was sent back to the manufacturer and a new one was sent back to me so I could finish the review. Unfortunately, this camera broke too. This one won't get a stellar review. Running is happening before the kids wake up so I can avoid pushing a stroller. I'm up at 4:45 most mornings. I'm also getting back to track practice once a week with the help of some friends who have volunteered to babysit until Scott can get home from the hospital. I am planning on a 5K on Thanksgiving Day and then a cross country 6K at Club Nationals in December. I want to get fast! The Boston Marathon is only a few short months away.

We got family pictures today, thanks to Terese. We've never paid to have a family picture taken, and it's about time. We attempted to look decent and all look the same direction, but I'm sure Photoshop will have to help us out. Bruce kept making silly faces and Phoebe kept looking everywhere except at the camera. I can't wait to see the photos.

Signs that a Third Year Med Student lives in the House

1. You find things like this peach in the trash can. Nice stitches!

2. There is a pile of blue scrubs on the floor. When Scott came home and saw us for the first time after our Ohio trip, I went to hug him and he said, "Don't hug me; I'm covered in people's bodily fluids." It was very romantic.

3. There are more textbooks than space on the bookshelf.

4. Scott asked for a scalpel the other day. He meant the tweezers.

5. When I ask what he did in the past 30 hours that I haven't seen him, his stories are much more exciting than mine (and I usually have some good ones!). Last week he held a person's heart, stitched up arms and legs, and did so many appendectomies that he sounds bored by them already.

6. He fell asleep for an hour on the sofa in the church lobby.

7. The other side of the bed is empty by 5 a.m.

8. The fridge looks untouched in the mornings, but ravaged late at night.

9. The pile of New England Journals of Medicine go untouched for weeks at a time.

10. The scriptures and a highlighter sit on the back of the toilet. No time is wasted.