Lovely Thanksgiving afternoon

A beautiful Fall Tree Trunk
And we got to see eWeb (Mazie is dressed as the green hornet)
And we got to feed the geese...
And we got to go biking!
Make that re-bicycling, courtesy of Richie's make-a-bike skills.

Everything is beautiful

Everything is beautiful and touching right now. I believe it's that time of the month in that time of the year.

I flossed my kids' teeth. Mazie has another loose tooth. Vivian learned to ride her bike a while back, but is re-learning on a bike Richie pieced together out of two used ones we bought (long story; the important part is that there were enough good parts to make one good bike...it just has a funny color pallette). So Vivian is all banged up - legs covered in bruises. I've been eating too many cookies. We cooked big pots of food last night and the night before. First, cream of vegetable soup; second, pinto beans that turned out pretty good.

It is TIME to start studying for boards. I feel nervous and excited and impatient. An expanse of time spreads before me: a landscape obscured by fog. I'll be feeling my way through each day - my stamina, my ability to focus in my surroundings, my retention. I plan to keep in touch with my scattered, solitary compatriots. Marco! (Which resource are you using for biochem?!) Polo! (I have Lippincott, but I found First Aid to be sufficient!)

Meanwhile, Richie is awesome. Cindy the Cat won't stop climbing our screens. Mazie and Vivian are obsessed with my bathrobes. There are three - all from the thrift store - which works out to one for each of us. And, as shown here, everything is beautiful.

Whoops - forgot to mention that that is Mazie in her dandelion costume. Her part in the second grade musical was to be a weed. She chose dandelion in the flower phase of its life cycle. Later, I'll post a picture of the inscription on the tee shirt that we used to make the yellow headdress. Priceless.

Wow.

So, I've been looking at this blog, reading a bit of what I wrote. I think I haven't written at all over the past six months just from being flat overwhelmed by the day-to-day. I think about all the stuff I've learned, finishing up with anatomy, the weather getting so hot and then changing to cool again. I think about seeing patients in clinic, about the changes Richie and I have gone through to adjust to our new roles. I think about my friends doing the same things I am doing and about my friends and family who are far away.

How I am feeling right now can be summed up by the AA meeting I went to for our latest module (Psychiatry/Neuro). It's predictable, yet profound: One Day at a Time. Every day is a gift, and has its own work. God is good. That is all I have right now; Lord may it be sufficient.

Fall!

Explanation of photos: Vivian on the phone with Grandma, at dusk, near halloween. "Passport-style photo" FAIL. Mazie jumping for it. Vivi and Mazie getting Crazy-haired at Fall Festival. (This was a very cool idea that I plan to co-opt for my own purposes except I will not use RUBBER bands!)