THE END!

Today I was in the resident lounge, and it dawned on me - this year is O-V-E-R. There was a fresh batch of interns trying to put on their calm face when inside you know the anxiety was nauseating. They sat at the computers frantically scribbling notes trying to learn the patients they would be responsible for in a few short hours. Several were still trying to figure out how to log into the computers and asking where to find charts. It wasn't long ago that it was me in those shoes. And as much fun as it was to watch the incoming class, it was even more exciting to watch my fellow soon-to-be-former interns. Confident. Knowledgable. Relaxed. What a striking parallel to the nervous, naive, and stressed interns that started the year twelve months ago. Truly remarkable. Change is awesome.

Clearly, I've grown as a doctor in the past twelve months. It would be impossible not to. But it has also been a complete transformation at home. I went back and read my first few blog posts and remembered what it was like it to hold 6-month-old Owen. I didn't think it could get any better. I was wrong. It is so much better. To see that smile and those little feet chugging as fast as they can go to the door when you get home has brought me to tears more than once. My heart melts when he lifts his arms in the air to be held (which doesn't happen very often), and who could resist his sloppy kisses. He is such a little man now. And just think, there is another little one ready to come and melt my heart any day now - maybe any hour. Being a mom has been more than amazing, and more than I could ever express in words. Talk about changing you. It doesn't get any more transformational.

So I guess this is it. This blog is a wrap. "MOM.D. - Intern year" is completed. Intern year is completed. Never will I go back. Never again will I be that low on the totem pole. No more 30-hour call shifts. No more crunchy hospital pillows. No more single stroller jogs. No more family photos of three. No more. Good-Bye. The End.

... at least until I come up with a name for another blog