I know it’s been forever since I’ve posted! Neurosurgery has been a whirlwind. This weekend, though, I made a conscious effort to enjoy myself and spend time with friends, family, and that guy I live with…what’s his name again? Having been Type A personality since pre-school, when my teacher had to tell my mom that I was a leader (read bossy), I’ve never been one to play before work–not back then when my “play” was dolls and not now when my “play” is martinis.

This weekend was a rare time when I made lots and lots of plans even though I have an intimidating project due Thursday that I hadn’t started. I’ve been thinking about some of the things I’ve missed out on lately and things I’m missing out on in the future, and I just couldn’t stand to miss out on one more thing.  I was unwilling to give up another girls night. I would not miss another Cubs game. Dinner on the deck on a beautiful summer night had to be done.

The outcome of all this play and no work? I feel great today. I feel like I have a life. I feel normal. Not only that, but I was able to sit down at 9:30 a.m. and not get up until 6 p.m. today with a very large chunk of work knocked out.

The truth is that this is my life. Being in school where there is literally an end date to a given part of your life can make it feel like everything else needs to be postponed until that goal is reached. I still remember being in high school and thinking, well at least when I get to college, I can start living. Then undergrad was over, and I thought, in med school, I’ll feel like an adult and really start living a normal life. Now my thoughts are that I can start living life after residency–or maybe after fellowship. Does anyone else see a flaw in this logic when your training program is 13 years long…that’s presumably 15% of my entire life.  Ouch.

The stupid cliche about enjoying the ride is annoyingly true. This is it. My ride may have a few more blood-rushing hills and upside-down loops, but I have got to enjoy it because I paid good money to get on this ride