Essentials

What I can't live without here in Cincy, otherwise known as the list of things I enjoy about being here:

Skype
Terry's Turf Club, my Monday night burger dive
Netflix
iTunes (to push back the quiet)
Fun colleagues and IR team
Time to read
Whole Foods
My trainer
My tough Honda Pilot in all its terrain-tromping wonderfulness
Restaurants with bars, so that I never have to get a table for one
The promise of spring; the accomplishment of learning to deal with the cold
Google Maps and GPS

My routines are solid now. I never did live an adult life on my own. Well, there was about a month of medical school before E and I became a we. I think if things had gone completely different in my life (thank God that's not the case), it would look somewhat like what it is now. I get up early, read the news/feeds/FB, make coffee and breakfast, leave for work at 6:50, change into scrubs, work, change out of scrubs, home. The last part is where there are frequent deviations. Many nights I go to dinner with folks from work. Mondays I go to Terry's. Some nights I eat at home. I stay home on Friday evenings. I go to the movies on Saturdays. I wash clothes and take out the trash on Sundays. I mean, this is what people do who don't have families, I guess. There are parts of this that I like. As a type A hoarder of details and plans, this kinda fits my psyche. [You should see the organization of my bathroom shelf.]

I don't crave drama and chaos. I don't love the unexpected.

BUT I MISS THOSE THINGS! Shock of all shocks, to learn some things about yourself. I can literally feel what my kids would feel like in my hands. It is a visceral kind of miss. It is so cliche, but all those good and bad and crazy and ugly things about being a family are so crucial to our beings.

On another note, if you ever get the chance to experience being recruited, enjoy it. It is quite flattering. It probably needs to stop before I get a big head. My humility is really taking a beating around here. OK, not really, but there is a certain allure to the attention. And appreciation. I am so grateful for all the training I've had up to this experience. I was ready to tackle this. I am good at what I do, and I found the perfect job for me. Some kids actually get better when we treat them. All of these things I owe to the people who trained me so well. What a blessing.

No, we're not moving. But my eyes are open to the possibility. I have now seen for the first time another medical system. Another set of rules, routines, experiences, and outcomes. There's a whole world out there!!!! It will someday become very clear that the timing is right for me to chase my career to a new place. When that day comes, I think I'll be ready.

Tomorrow, HOME. Exhale.