Diary of a Doctor's Wife: Graduation Pics

In the next two weeks we have two residency graduations to attend. Can you even believe there is such a thing? Well there is and if you do fellowship there is one then as well, and if you do another piece to fellowship there is one after that as well, but luckily we are stopping here so there are only these two that I have to drag myself too. I hate graduations, all of them, with maybe the exception of my kid's preschool graduation because your own preschooler in a graduation cap is adorable, but besides that I hate them all. I'm not entirely sure when this hatred started. I know I went to my high school graduation relatively happy. I went to my sister's high school graduation relative happy. I decided I didn't really want to go to my own graduation so instead walked with Dr. J at his. I think it was around this time that I started to realize that graduations are SO BORING! Please graduation speakers spare us the positive life lessons. If I want to be uplifted I'll watch a Disney movie or read a cat poster. I don't want to hear about how we are all just going to go out there and conquer, that today is our day. Get up at tell a few jokes. Sit down. And then the name reading...don't get me started on the name reading. No clapping until the end they say, but of course people clap, of course it the name reader pauses for them. It makes me crazy. This is when I really start to hate my last name. If my name was Adams I could get my diploma, walk off the stage and keep going to the parking lot but name is far back in the alphabet so instead I just have to sit and listen and stand in line, stand in a never ending line that only get longer because people always clap. I hate graduation. The years of usher graduations for the education department as part of my college job only added to my bitterness.

When Dr. J told me that we had not one but two graduations to attend I pleaded, I yelled, I begged to get out of it. "It is a free dinner at a fancy event with me!" the man said. "Can't we just go to Saint Elmos?" I responded. When my mother in law called to let me know they were coming I asked if it would be ok if I just stayed home with the kids. She lovingly told me I wasn't being very supportive and that this was a culmination of all of our hard work. First off I'd like to point out that I'm pretty sure the 13 years of actually being supportive during my husbands long path of higher education are proof enough that I'm very supportive. Secondly I told her the culmination of all our hard work for me is going to come that second we get our first pay check. I'm to cash that thing into cash, bring it home, stand on top of my bed and throw all that money into the air until it rains cash. That is the moment I'm waiting for. This sitting at a dinner, listening to talks about going out and seizing the moment, listening to names read off that is just going to be a moment of torture for me.

My friend whose husband is doing psychiatry said each of the graduates is going to do a little speech at his. Thank goodness there are way too many pediatric or internal medicine residents to do that, because there is only so much thanks I can take in one night. As is in the pediatric resident graduation they wanted each graduate to pick 3-6 pictures to send in for a slide show to represent his time living here during residency. Dr. J asked me to pick a few for him. I sent him six figuring he could pic his favorites. Here were my choices....

We have lots of pictures in Kenya but only a very few as a whole family and of those whole family shots it is really hard to tell for the most part where we are. I like this equator one though because it is pretty darn obvious and less you think I'm just being a little bragging about the trip the Kenya trip is actually done through the University of Indiana. It is actually the reason we wanted to come here and we are so thankful we had the opportunity to do it!

This one same deal only it has elephants in it. I doubt he will pick it but I liked it because this is fatherhood. I have traveled all over with this man carrying our children on his shoulders.

This picture is from Indiana Dunes my absolutely favorite spot in Indiana! I've been up there three times and love it more each time. I thought this picture was fun because it shows a little of Dr. J's nature.

This picture was taken at Clifty Falls another one of our favorite spots in Indiana. They have cool fossils here. This is the spot my kids became true fossil hounds!

This is at the Museum of Art. It is a pretty recognizable landmark for our city so I figured I'd give the city a little love. Also this particular graduation is being held here. This museum used to be free which was totally amazing. It has since raised it's adult prices to $18 a ticket. The grounds are still free though, have tons of statues, and are worth a visit!

The final picture was a Dr. J pick. It happened while we were in the program and it the only reason we were even there was because of the program so take that, one of my favorite days of the year, an eight mile walking tour of London with four kids!