Dr. J and his famous last words

Before I discuss my latest news, I feel the need to take a walk down memory lane to put this new in perspective.

• Joseph and I go on our first date. (I told you we were taking a walk, just forgot to mention it was a long one!)
• 5 months later we get married and go on our honeymoon.
• 2 days after we get back from our honeymoon we move to North Dakota.
• 2 months after arriving in North Dakota, I get pregnant.

***I'd like to pause for a moment and point out that at this point, I have only known this man for a total of 7 months.  Holy cow, we move fast!

• 4 months pregnant we move to San Antonio for 5 months – J goes to class all day and I hang out in a hotel room. Bored. That time is memorialized by Mexican food and People’s Court reruns. Lots of both.
• Come back to ND and have Caleb James. Delicious, spirited child.
• Shortly after Caleb is born J starts training for a sprint triathlon and starts an organic chemistry class at Minot State. Because, apparently, having a child isn’t enough to keep him busy.
• Does really well in first triathalon, aces O Chem and starts studying for his MCAT.

***Let’s pause on our walk here for a moment. This was a sweet, quiet little time in my life. J worked, came home for lunch everyday and was home by 4:45pm. We lived in the middle of no where, but had great friends and a happy little life.

• Then… I got pregnant and J got accepted to medical school, so we moved across country with a 2 year old while I was almost 9 months pregnant. Quiet little life, shattered!
• We got to DC and J had 2 weeks to unpack all the boxes, paint some rooms and help me get a nursery ready before he started classes.
• 2 weeks after classes start, Luke Daniel is born. Delicious, funny child. J was there for the delivery and got me home the next day and then went back to classes. I got post partum bad.
• The next 2 years are a blur of living in DC, trying to adjust to J’s new (and completely different than Minot) schedule, and trying to adjust to have 2 kids.
• We decide to move ourselves to Texas to finish the last two years of medical school. J knew he wanted to do his residency here, so we took a BIG gamble in moving here. We packed ourselves and with the help of my step-dad, moved across the country. 3rd cross country move in 5 years. If you’re counting.  Obviously, I am.
• Two months after moving to Texas I got pregnant. With twins. And was sick. Beyond belief. With a husband who was working c-r-a-z-y hours. Oh, my, that was a crazy time in life.
• When I’m 7 months pregnant, J leaves for 6 weeks to North Carolina for work. Caleb was 3, Luke was 1 and I was HUGE! ‘Nuff said.
• Twins are born at the end of 3rd year. I now have 4 kids under 4. Oh.my.
• J leaves for 5 weeks when the twins are 5 weeks old. If I think back on that time too long, I will have an anxiety attack. Let’s walk faster here.
• First year of Twinkies life is a mixture of crazy, fun, overwhelming, exhausting, adorable, sweet and amazing. Mercy, I wish I would have soaked it up more…
• When twins turn one, we take a 3 week road trip back to DC to watch Joseph graduate medical school. HUGE milestone. The graduation and the 3 week trek with 4 small kids under 5.
• Joseph starts residency in Emergency Medicine. Assures me that the hours are the best out there and he will “only work 12-16 shifts a month”. Oh, yes, I will quote him on that one. It will be my ammunition in the years to come. And yes, I do use ammunition.
• Residency for 2 ½ years (so far). It bites. Really bad. There are many moments I am d-o-n-e. Instead of running away and moving to Tahiti, I cling on to the words “only work 12-16 shifts a month”.
• End of second year, there are whispers. Faint at first, but then they get louder. Fellowship…fellowship…fellowship. And then one day Man finally says it out loud. “I think I want to do a fellowship.” NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. More famous words, “Don’t worry, it looks like it will be a long shot. There are a lot of details that have to fall into place.”

We found out last week that he got the fellowship. With call every 5 days. Most of you don’t know what that means. Let’s just put it this way – it’s the opposite of, “only work 12-16 shifts a month”. Very opposite.

We are moving again. At least it’s to a place that is dear to my heart. Really close to people that are dear to my heart. That makes the fact that I won’t be experiencing “only work 12-16 shifts a month” a little less painful.

And so we continue on this crazy journey. I told my man, before we were even married, that I would follow him wherever he wanted to go. Because as long as he is there, then I’m home. Lucky for him, almost 10 years later, I still feel that same way!