He's Human!

Or humanistic...

I tend to get annoyed when people go on and on about how sensitive, perfect, thoughtful, helpful, AMAZING (in caps of course) their husbands are and how they're the BEST and no one else's husband can EVER measure up.  I guess it annoys me when people toot their own horns.  I really try not to be annoying and brag about our little family even though this is our family blog, (sorry if I have) but I just had to shine the spotlight on Ben for a sec.  Maybe I don't let Ben know often enough how much I love him and that I am very proud of his hard work, so this is my attempt to find a happy medium.  But if you feel yourself getting annoyed and are cursing me for being a hypocrite, then you can just stop reading.

So, we are three years into medical school and I know it will get harder from here and we'll see each other less in residency, but we have been through some challenging yet memorable times together.  It really stunk when he only got one day off for Sammi to be born because he had to be back at the hospital for his OB/Gyn rotation.  The irony 'bout killed me.  It also stunk when he immediately thereafter had to do his pediatric infectious disease rotation with our 4 week old baby at home.  The nights or weekends on call aren't my fave, especially when I have to do church by myself, and often our evenings are cut short because he has to go to bed early in order to rise early.  It probably kills him to see me zonked, probably with my mouth open, as he has to get up and go to school really early to study, followed by attempts to humiliate him and the other students (depending on the attending physician), with some patient care sprinkled in, and then come home to tired kids and wife and then curling up with a good book like Case Files: Family Medicine.  And that's not some kind of mystery novel...:)

I'm really not complaining because it hasn't been too bad.  I'm getting good practice at flying solo.  But the point is, even though he is busy, he still tries hard to strike a good balance, and last night was recognized by receiving the Gold Humanism Award along with some other students in his class.  This award is given to rising fourth-year medical students who have demonstrated exemplary attitudes and behaviors characteristic of the most humanistic physicians:  excellence, integrity, compassion, altruism, respect, empathy, and service.  He was nominated by other students in his class and there was a very nice and sincere write-up about Ben in the program.

So congrats, hon.  You're going to be a great doctor...someday.  We'll still be here when you emerge from the depths of training in a few years. :)