In Brandon's program, half of the months are spent on "in-patient" service (OB, pediatrics, or adult medicine), which generally means longer hours, working most weekends, managing patients by phone during "off" hours, and a fair share of overnight shifts. (The remaining months are mostly out-patient clinic rotations, plus covering extra hospital shifts on the weekends). Every in-patient month includes a week of working the night shift. One of the "perks" of being a second year, is working just 5 nights during that week, as opposed to the 6 nights he did as an intern. This means, theoretically, he finishes his final night shift Friday morning, and is off until Monday morning! Three full days off!
Brandon is in the middle of his third in-patient service month this year....and we have yet to enjoy this magical "three day weekend". The first month, he worked his 5 nights, then drive to Kansas City to attend a conference. (Then went right back to work on Monday with no time off). The second month, he got off Friday morning and drove to Colorado for Bike Trip weekend. This time, he left directly from the hospital after his shift ended yesterday morning, drove 2.5 hours to a town in central Kansas, and has spent the past two days in an all-day, intensive certification class as part of his licensing. At least he has tomorrow to rest and recover and try to get his sleep schedule back to day-time waking/working.
If it sounds like I'm complaining.....well, I am. We knew residency would be an intense, busy three years. Some days are just more wearing than others. Some days, I just miss my husband.
We have been taking a parenting class at our church the past few weeks. Things at home have been a bit chaotic as we attempt to implement some of the principles we've learned through the class. It sort of feels like potty training. Before potty training, our kids just soil themselves whenever and wherever they want. And the mess is neatly contained for us to deal with later, when it's convenient. But, especially if you do a cold-turkey potty training method, one day, the diapers are just gone. Suddenly the child is forced to deal immediately with the consequences of their actions. Hopefully, this motivates them to want to learn self-control. Because the child can't stay in diapers forever. But those early days of potty training are hard! It's messy and emotional and stressful for everyone. And that's where we are right now.
I took the kids out for brunch today, because....well, just because. At the restaurant, an older gentleman helped my very pregnant, two-child-toting self get a high chair to our table. Our food ended up taking a long time, and Jonah has a hard time sitting still. But I would say we had a mostly successful outing. Near the end of our meal, as he was leaving, the gentleman who had helped me with the high chair stopped by our table and said, "I'll bet your husband is proud of these kids. They are just great. Darlings. You have a blessed day." I almost started crying. If only he had see the rest of our week...... He can't know what it meant to have him say that.
We are trying to do more than "just survive" residency - these are three years of our life that we want to spend living, not waiting for them to be over. Residency is not just a necessary evil, but an important part of Brandon's training. I needed a little reminder of that today, as I'm tempted to sit and wallow. So, even though we haven't seen Brandon since he left for work Thursday afternoon, and he won't be back until after the kids are in bed tonight, we are choosing to embrace today. Even the tantrums and disobedience and whining. Especially the snuggles and elaborate stories and giggles. Today, I am thankful. (But I will be so glad when my husband is HOME!)
If it sounds like I'm complaining.....well, I am. We knew residency would be an intense, busy three years. Some days are just more wearing than others. Some days, I just miss my husband.
We have been taking a parenting class at our church the past few weeks. Things at home have been a bit chaotic as we attempt to implement some of the principles we've learned through the class. It sort of feels like potty training. Before potty training, our kids just soil themselves whenever and wherever they want. And the mess is neatly contained for us to deal with later, when it's convenient. But, especially if you do a cold-turkey potty training method, one day, the diapers are just gone. Suddenly the child is forced to deal immediately with the consequences of their actions. Hopefully, this motivates them to want to learn self-control. Because the child can't stay in diapers forever. But those early days of potty training are hard! It's messy and emotional and stressful for everyone. And that's where we are right now.
I took the kids out for brunch today, because....well, just because. At the restaurant, an older gentleman helped my very pregnant, two-child-toting self get a high chair to our table. Our food ended up taking a long time, and Jonah has a hard time sitting still. But I would say we had a mostly successful outing. Near the end of our meal, as he was leaving, the gentleman who had helped me with the high chair stopped by our table and said, "I'll bet your husband is proud of these kids. They are just great. Darlings. You have a blessed day." I almost started crying. If only he had see the rest of our week...... He can't know what it meant to have him say that.
We are trying to do more than "just survive" residency - these are three years of our life that we want to spend living, not waiting for them to be over. Residency is not just a necessary evil, but an important part of Brandon's training. I needed a little reminder of that today, as I'm tempted to sit and wallow. So, even though we haven't seen Brandon since he left for work Thursday afternoon, and he won't be back until after the kids are in bed tonight, we are choosing to embrace today. Even the tantrums and disobedience and whining. Especially the snuggles and elaborate stories and giggles. Today, I am thankful. (But I will be so glad when my husband is HOME!)
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