Friday, December 25, 2009

The Little Things

I LOVE Christmas. I love the whole season - the decorations, the cards, the gifts, the parties, the celebrations, the hustle and bustle...I look forward to it every year.

Since no one seems to give out calendars to newborns, we're a 24/7 operation. Which includes holidays - and this year, Christmas Eve was mine. My mom still has a hard time grasping the concept of why everyone needs to take their turn working holidays, but that's a different story.

It might not sound like fun, working on Christmas Eve - and during a blizzard no less - while everyone else is celebrating with their families. But fun or not, yesterday being at work was exactly where I was supposed to be.


Baby Gilbert - 12.24.09 (199 of 200)



Her 90 minutes were spent with her family, making her know just how very loved and cherished and beautiful she was. And that deserves to be preserved and remembered. Given the combination of the weather and the holidays, there wasn't an actual photographer available.

But since I was working, my schedule was wide open.

There are other places that might have been more fun than work on Christmas Eve, but I'm still pretty sure that I was exactly where I was meant to be.


I hope that your holidays are filled with love, laughter, family, friends, and that the season shines for you in a million small and beautiful ways...Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Best Shot Monday - Happiness

Back from a long (and unintended) hiatus, these are my best shots from last week:

12.17.09 (110 of 129)


12.17.09 (85 of 129)


12.17.09 (91 of 129)


A rare sunny and non-frigid December day... It doesn't get much better than that...

bsm

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Passing

There are lots of things that pass.

You pass cars on the road that are going to small. You pass the time. You pass the butter, salt, or pepper. You pass from one stage of life to another.

But few things are more gratifying than passing into the second semester of medical school.

Seriously.

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I thought I knew what I was getting into when I went to medical school. I had been a nurse for several years, I knew faculty at the school I was attending, and I knew lots of physicians. Although strangely enough, very few of the physicians who found out I was going to medical school had much more than a concerned look on their face.

I probably should have paid more attention to that.

Not because I am not happy to be where I am -- on the contrary, I am beyond thrilled to be in medical school. And even more thrilled to have survived the first semester. But now I know why they gave that look. It was much less about not being encouraging and much more the look of "Oh my goodness, I remember what it was like...."

I now completely understand the look.

People say that it doesn't take long for those in medicine to being to discourage those who are thinking about that career path. I can see why -- not because they don't think it's a fantastic path, but because medical school is like nothing words can explain.

The volume of information. The constant stress level. The effort it takes to be around people who are stressed to the max day after day. The feeling like you know absolutely nothing. There are no words that can prepare you for that. You know medical school is going to be tough, but you have no idea that it's going to be the way it is.

Some things no one can tell you, you just have to learn on your own.

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