Physician Moms Blog-Hop: Introduction
9:00 AM
Linking up with Sarah at Disis and the D Crew and Christy at Sunny with a Side of... for the first installment of the Physician Mom Blog-Hop.
So hello! My name is Katie, and I'm currently a fourth-year medical student with a wonderful, supportive husband and a vivacious 18-month old daughter.
I started medical school as a single gal who was entertaining thoughts of entering the religious life (i.e. becoming a nun). But God clearly had other plans for me, because midway through my MS1 year I met a cute grad student...midway through my MS2 year I married him...and midway through my MS3 year I gave birth to our daughter!
Being a mom in medical school hasn't always been easy (my husband could tell you plenty of stories about the hard times), and I often fall into the trap of focusing on the challenges of this current season of life while ignoring the blessings. But someone recently encouraged me to take a step back and look at life as a bell curve - some days are great and some are just rotten, but most are pretty good. And I've been recognizing more and more that this is true.
Some days I feel like I've got it all together: Daycare drop-off accomplished without tears! Submitted a manuscript for publication! Got great feedback on H&P's! Nutritious dinner already prepped!
Other days it seems like nothing is going right: Both the toddler and I had meltdowns before breakfast...my one pair of dress pants are now covered in oatmeal...I still can't find my stethoscope...we're all eating scrambled eggs and chia seeds for dinner because there's no other food in the house...
But most days fall somewhere in between: We all make it out of the house on time in (mostly) clean clothes, I talk with patients and maybe get the chance to put a note in the chart or suggest a treatment option, I realize (again) that there is so much I still have to learn and practice, we throw together more than two food groups for dinner and get our daughter to sleep after a few recitations of Corduroy and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (the texts of which now take up the space in my memory formerly occupied by the components of the brachial plexus).
It's been something of a wild ride these past few years, but I am so
grateful for this vocation of marriage, motherhood and medicine. When I take the time to really look at my life, I am almost in disbelief that I am given so many gifts on a daily basis - the opportunity to journey through life with a partner who shares my deepest convictions, the chance to train in a field that will allow me to offer healing and hope to people experiencing pain and suffering, and of course, the incredible blessing of being mother to a toddler who challenges me in ways I never thought possible (but who gives me more than enough joy to sweeten the deal).
Between residency and a (hopefully) growing family, the next few years will certainly bring new challenges - but I am excited to meet them. I have been greatly encouraged by reading the reflections of physician moms like Sarah and Christy, and look forward to "meeting" many more through this Blog Hop! It's so helpful to know that there are others out there walking this same path - some right beside me in the rough patches, others a little further along, still others far down the road who can offer a glimpse of smoother stretches and bright horizons.
Check out the other physician moms here!
Check out the other physician moms here!
3 comments
Hello! Thanks for linking up with us. I am so glad you did. I love ff along your journey through motherhood and medicine. There will be lots of extremes of that bell curve. But yes, there will be EVEN MORE happy and successful days that will make you forget the sweat and tears. :) Good luck with residency interviews. What are you going into?
ReplyDeleteHi Katie! SOO great to meet you and get to know you a bit! I excited to see where life will lead you and your family. We all go through days of ups and downs, but at the end we remain on the road that God leads us down. Wishing you all the best as you go into residency- enjoy every moment of it! Your faith and family will carry you through, and I know you will be successful in all that you do :)
ReplyDeleteChristy
www.sunnywithasideof.blogspot.com
This is beautiful written. Even though I stay home full time with my girls, I too feel like there are days when I just can't seem to get everything right, we're late for appointments/classes, I can't think of anything to make for dinner, etc. I don't know how you manage it all with medical school!
ReplyDeleteWhat specialty are you doing your residency in? My husband is a physician and I met him at the end of his 4th year of medical school (my 4th year of grad school) when we were both about to head off to residency/internships.