It’s strange to think that summer has gone past and fall has come. The summer seemed to drag along while we waited for medical school to begin, our lease to be up and big changes to happen. In the spring we finally went on our honeymoon to Puerto Rico and quickly following we celebrated our last free summer together. Time seemed to pass so slowly and looking back faster than I ever thought. I’m sitting here nearly in the middle of autumn, and I’m wondering where the time has gone?
This past August, Conor began his first year of medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He was prepared for school but not surprisingly, I was not. I knew that time together would change, that he would spend more quality time with his books than with me. I still wasn’t prepared for how quickly this would happen. I’m used to a slow start to semesters, but this was something so different; Conor immediately started not just running but running a marathon. I’m jubilant to report that he’s been doing so well and excelling.
Moving
At the beginning of September, we also moved to a different part of Philadelphia; a little further from his school but a much nicer building and apartment. Slowly this apartment feels like home, and I didn’t think that I would feel this way so quickly. Our last apartment was a decent sized one bedroom apartment; the building was safe but timeworn. There was also an odd club on the first floor which wasn’t quiet Wednesday through Monday. Strange I know, but we used to wake up to music, fights, and crazy things at the worst hours. Not something I wanted Conor to have to worry about during med school.
Our new apartment has a beautiful view, a quick walk to a beautiful park and endless hiking trails. Something that I’m excited about is a pool and lounge on the roof. Our apartment, in particular, is so big, we had to go out and purchase furniture to fill the space! It is two bedroom and two bath, with a brand new kitchen, and a huge balcony. Our last apartment had a small balcony so having one that I can do yoga on is great. Overall, I feel like it’s our first space that feels like home. Feels like we can grow into it and dare I say I feel like an adult. 😉 I’ve been an adult for awhile, but our last few apartments just felt like an extension of college.
It’s a new beginning for our small family that I wasn’t quite expecting it to be such a big deal. We still have some unpacking and organizing to do, but for the most part, we’re all moved in. Unfortunately, we lost a bookshelf during the move, so we’re down a lot of storage space for all of our books. Once we’re able to budget a little more money, we’ll eventually get a new one, for now, we’ll have about 20 boxes of books that will have to sit in the closet. My mother is moving to South Carolina so there’s some furniture and a ton of broken down boxes that she’ll need.
We’re unable to build our dining room table because the room is a little more than packed with stuff. Soon our dining room chairs will be delivered from Pier1, so I need to make that trip to my mothers sooner rather than later.
White Coat
In October we finally had time off, after having a packed schedule throughout August and September. The first Saturday in October was Conor’s White Coat Ceremony. It’s a tradition for PCOM students to receive their first white coat at this point in the semester to welcome them into the DO family, and the long journey of becoming a fully practicing doctor. Families were invited to observe but the ceremony was for the students.
The speakers shared words of advice, especially on how to clean stains on their new and still pristine coats. Encouraged the students to work hard and to trust themselves that they have the ability and knowledge to succeed in the program. To seek out support from family and friends, and to just do their best each day. Watching the students help each other into their coats made this journey so much more real to us all.
Following the coating of the students, the speaker spoke to the class for the last time at this ceremony and explained that at this point now, when the white coat is on, they will be the people that others look to for help and answers. After we took pictures and left the campus, we went out for dinner. Following, we went to bed early because the next day we were getting up before 5 am to head into NYC.
This update turned into a short novel so I’ll save the post about our trip to NYC for another day.
