Andy and I don’t feel like the average med school couple.
I mean, we are on paper, but somehow it doesn’t seem like it, and I think it’s because we feel settled. In the med school, residency, (fellowship?), and beyond! family life it can be hard to put down roots. As a family you have to be flexible on where you live and what your schedule looks like among other things. (Granted, we are only ending year one of this journey and I have a feeling that God has a lot of growth planned for us in this area…)
So it can be easy to get caught up in the countdowns, the “in 4 years we’ll be here”, “when we’re 30 you’ll start getting paid” type of thing. And don’t get me wrong, when we start getting closer to graduation, I’m sure I’ll have a countdown going. However, somehow, someway, I’ve actually done a good job at focusing on the now this year. We moved to Pikeville almost a year ago and when our realtor said to us, “Congratulations, you’re Pikevillians now!” we took it to heart. Although we’re busy with both of us in graduate school and me working full-time, we’ve been intentional to invest in this community.
Investing in the community where you are can be an easy thing to write off when you are in such a busy stage of life, but by doing so you cheat yourself of an awesome opportunity. Last year, when we lived in Wake Forest, we knew we would be there for only a year so we got involved but it was different. It was unintentional at the time, but I think we were invested in a more shallow way because we knew we would be moving on in a matter of months.
This year, I can see the difference.
Yes, we’ll likely move when Andy is done with school, but we live in Pikeville now. In less time, we’ve made more friends and closer friends, the call anytime, come hang out at our house, we’ll pray, play, share life and eat pie together kind of friends. (I mean, is there any better kind of friend?!)
Of course, I have had times where I can get stuck in the countdowns and anxiety of the medical family life, but I think putting down roots has helped me keep it at bay. When you’re in a place that feels like home, it is easier not to worry about not knowing what the next 5, 10, or 15 years might bring. (And nobody really knows that anyway.)
Being settled. Sometimes it makes all the difference.
Adventures of Our Own 
This is so hard for us young adults to do! I don’t even know you (obvi) and I’m proud of you guys! And, um, those pie-eating friends sound amazing. 😉 Cheers!
Pie-eating friends are the best kind of friends! Thanks! The focusing on the now kind of just happened this year, but whatever I did, I want to make sure I do it again. 🙂 Thanks for reading.
Good for you for feeling settled! We have been in two different states for residency and fellowship and never quite felt like home. Now we are finishing fellowship next month, moving back to my home state and finally putting down permanent roots yay! I think staying in the moment is so key and not wishing your life away to when you’re done with medical school, residency etc. It is a crazy, long journey but you guys seem like a fabulous couple and I know you will do just fine 🙂 Great blog excited to follow your journey.
Thanks for linking your post with Medical Mondays. Sounds like you are off to a great start. Being involved is a wonderful way to make friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime.