Graduation Part II

More graduation pictures: A happy couple. I think Neal looks quite distinguished in his graduation regalia. Green is a good color for him.

Neal and Chris--our first and best friend in med school, right there with Neal to the very end. Chris, good luck in Boston, WE WILL MISS YOU!!!

In addition to the med school hooding ceremony, we went to the university wide graduation on Sunday. Here's Neal entering the stadium.

This could have been a much better picture had I not been wearing white and had Neal's head not been cut off.

It's hard to believe that med school is over. Neal has been a student our whole married life. Med school definitely has its ups and downs, but from my point of view it wasn't that bad. I'm actually much more nervous about residency than I was about med school. For my own sake, here's a quick review of the last four years:

Year 1: Neal studied A LOT and I was home alone at night (in our small apartment in a not-so-great part of town) very frequently. We had some fun times with med school friends and friends in our ward, but for the most part it was a VERY lonely time for me. There were weeks here and there that Neal didn't study too much and we spent more time together, but two weeks before a test block Neal would start studying hard and I wouldn't see much of him until the tests were over. The summer after year 1 was bad for me--Neal was gone for 6 weeks in Alabama for commisioned officers training for the Air Force, and then after a brief stop at home left for El Salvador for 10 days doing a research project that he got a grant for. I look back on those lonely days with a shudder. At least I was working the whole time so I wasn't alone all day and all night!

Year 2: About the same studying-wise for Neal, but we bought our house at the beginning of year 2 so I was in a better part of town where I felt safer and had more friends in a similar circumstance. Work was quite busy for me, which helped ease my loneliness, as well. By the end of year 2 we were very settled in our ward and new area and were enjoying it. Right after year 2 Neal started preparing for Step I, which meant more long hours of studying.

Year 3: Rotations provided a nice change for Neal from lectures all of the time, but also added a new set of frustrations. Being on the bottom of the totem pole at a hospital was not always fun for Neal. He kicked off the year with his surgery rotation, which was a lot of work and had long hours. I remember Neal being somewhat bitter during year 3, but he got over it as time went on. The birth of Sally added variety to life and Neal liked coming home and spending time with her. I think it was a good stress reliever (not that he really gets stressed compared to most people).

Year 4: The easiest and most enjoyable for Neal, the second worst year for me. Neal was away from home for 4 different rotations (actually one of them was officially a 3rd year rotation), and was at home all the time for other months. This was hard because I'm a schedule oriented person, and this year totally threw off my groove. We did have a lot of fun during the times that Neal was free, though (like now). It will be hard to give up all of this togetherness once residency starts.

Currently Neal is working at KU as a step I prep course instructor. It's a good chance for him to brush up before residency, and he's getting paid decently for it. To my cousin Matt: I'm sure you'll rock step I! After step I the light at the end of the med school tunnel becomes perceptible. You'll make it. Hang in there!