Residency Graduation

Last night, Chris and I had a good friend from church come over to babysit the kiddos, and went to residency graduation. Thank heavens there were no goofy gowns to pay to rent, no watching every-single-person shake somebody's hand on a stage, and no long, dull speeches to suffer through on hard bleacher seats.

Not that those graduations aren't nice, but we've done enough of those for this particular graduate already, haven't we? High school, college, medical school... Still, I'm so proud of my husband... 24 years of formal education down, 4 to go... what an expensive brain you have, my dear! :)

This time, it was a sit-down dinner - for free, of course! - at a good restaurant downtown, where we ladies rearranged the place settings a little to squeeze all ten of us in our group at one table. The ten of us who have been together for these three years of Husbands-Gone-All-The-Time; the five guys who have shared frustrations, joys, and stories about their daily work; the five ladies who have shared frustrations, joys, and stories about our husbands' work; the ten of us who have danced together at the annual Holiday Party, attended picnics in the park, exchanged clothes & movies & rides to the airport & help on cars; held each others' babies & each others' drinks & each others' hands; listened & commiserated & advised.

We are so sad that Roxanne and Andre are leaving us for Atlanta - happy that Andre matched in such a good program, but sad that they will be gone. And soon, we'll find out where Chris and Travis matched, and whether the rest of us will be staying together longer or not.

But for now, although the three years have had their challenges, our time together has always been wonderful! I will miss having this group to meet up with a few times a year to unwind from some of the difficult rotations our husbands have endured.

Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. Love still stands when all else has fallen.

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.

Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.