one year

Today marks the beginning of Peter's 5th year of residency... which means we're one year away from being done, and thus one year away from moving back to our home town in Michigan.

Residency has been difficult on both of us in a lot of ways, and this last year comes with more responsibility (and thus more work hours and more stress!) for Peter, but I'm still feeling a sad for how quickly the year will probably fly by, and a little nostalgic already about our time in Cincinnati. We'll really miss this city and all the great things we've fallen in love with here: our first house, our friends, our favorite restaurants, the milder winters and springs, the proximity to so many things I love but Holland doesn't have (Trader Joes, Ikea, Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel. Even Chipotle!).

And I admit I also feel a little cliche, being married to my high school sweetheart and moving back to our hometown. But we're also excited to be close to our families, for the great job opportunity Peter has there, and for all the new friends, experiences, restaurants, and activities that we'll discover as we settle back into a place that we know well but haven't lived in for years now. Oh, and to live close to the beach in the summer again - so excited about that.

Moving to a city for residency is kind of interesting - you get to choose which cities/residency programs are on the rank list that you submit, but the match process ultimately decides for you which one you'll end up in. It's such a big unknown, going in to that Match Day in March, which I found so stressful: there were 8 cities we could have ended up in, and with one opening of an envelope suddenly the location of our next 5 years was mandated. But it also has its excitement: it was a great time in our lives to try out a new city, to explore a little farther afield from where we grew up, to develop a new set of relationships and hobbies in a new place.

The other interesting thing about moving to a city for residency is that most of the people we know best here are also residents or spouses of residents, so we've all settled into this new city together as transplants and transients. It's great to know people with shared current experiences and varied past experiences - but I'm also reminded, when I have fleeting thoughts of maybe making Peter break his contract in Michigan so we can stay because I'm going to miss it so much, that many of our friends will be moving on at the same time, so it would hardly feel like the same city any more if we were to stay. The end of residency is quite a transition point in many ways.

The experience of moving at the completion of residency will be so much different than how it all started - Peter actually accepted this job last September, so by the time we move we'll have known for nearly two years the location of our next move. And of course we also know the city itself, having lived there for many years and still visiting our families there with some frequency. It'll still feel new in a lot of ways, given how long it's been since we graduated from high school and moved away for college - and given that now we're a family of three! Our Ohio-made baby is soon to be a Michigan-raised boy... And as much as we've enjoyed our time here in Ohio, as a Michigan-raised girl, I'm happy about that. 

Sharing on Medical Mondays. Photos by Jacqueline Vollat from our photo shoot in May.