Saturday, March 20, 2021

Thankful For Matching!

This weekend's Ten Things of Thankful is brought to you by a fabulous weekend filled with wondrous events.

Friday, March 19, was Match Day 2021. This is the day that fourth year medical students find out where they are going to do their residencies. Of course, due to Covid, the past year's rotations and classes were interrupted, and the interview process for residencies was completely on-line. The only good news about this is the playing field was level, because it was the same for every 4th year student, no matter where they were attending medical school, not that that makes it any easier for anyone.

My son's school, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, held a Covid-friendly (that seems like a contradiction in terms) celebration on Friday at a park near downtown. They did a lovely job of making it be as normal as possible: there were round tables set up and decorated with swag (more on that later), balloons (including an arch that was, quite honestly, a little underwhelming but nice in theory) and a few speakers. The tables were spaced out, seating was reserved, and masks were mandatory, even though it was outside, but it was terribly exciting to be there and see the students open their envelopes just before 11 a.m. to find out where they were going.




My son and almost daughter in law (as in 3 weeks away from the wedding) were matching together, or hopefully so, since there was a remote possibility that wouldn't happen. BIG THANKFUL that they did, indeed, match in the same city - yay!

The swag on the tables made it real that after all these many years of work, our son is a doctor! He's only been working towards this end since 6th grade.



The weather was beautiful. It could have been raining. It could have been snowing. There could have been a tornado. But instead, although it was a little cool, it was gloriously sunny, with very little wind (a big deal, because, you know, "Ooooooooklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain" is a very real thing).



We were stand-ins for Lillian's parents, who were unable to be there, but they joined her via Facetime to see the Big Reveal.

This is a pretty big deal, but I didn't fall down OR tip over in my chair during the celebration. Both were distinct possibilities, as my chair was not on level ground AND one time that I got up, I caught my foot in the excessively long tablecloth and tripped and stumbled but remained upright. Had I fallen, I should have been well cared for, since I was surrounded by approximately 120 4th year students plus several faculty members.

Envelopes were passed out to each student just before 11:00, at which time they all counted down from ten, and the envelopes were torn open. The verdict? Kyle and Lillian are going to Little Rock! 



We were so honored to get to experience Match Day with our doctors! What a treat!



Besides the official Match Day festivities, we also finally got to have Christmas with our doctors, as we hadn't been able to be with them since Thanksgiving. 

I managed not to eat all the candy for their stockings, and I think that shows a great deal of restraint on my part, since it was in my basement for three months. 

We stayed in a cute Airbnb in an old historic building. I love Airbnbs!

We ate entirely too much while in Oklahoma City, but it was goooood.

Now the countdown is on for the wedding, which is in three weeks and graduation six weeks later. Whew!

That's one pretty darn thankful weekend!

One final thankful goes out to my co-host Pat Brockett. She has some pretty terrific intuition, and I am grateful for it.

Now how about you? Ready to join the Ten Things of Thankful? Sure you are! Write yours down and link them up! 

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12 comments:

  1. Yes, fabulous! Wow! Congratulations to Kyle and his bride to be!

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  2. Congratulations! Little Rock is a nice area.

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    1. Thanks! I think they're going to enjoy Little Rock. Lots to do and close to Buffalo River.

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  3. What an exciting week it has been for all of you! So glad you got to go have fun and celebrate. Oh, I can just imagine the restraint that was to resist that candy in the basement. It would have been for me too. The Airbnb in an historic building sounds like an interesting place to have stayed.

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    1. It was so fun to be there for the big envelope opening! The candy in the basement was tough to resist! The Airbnb was in a building that was built in the early 1900s and was one the Catholic Charities building.

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  4. So... same ole, same ole weekend for you too?

    lol
    verycool

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  5. Congratulations, this is a list that made me smile more and more as i went along!

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    1. Aww, thanks, Mimi! I didn't think it was particularly well-written, but it was certainly heartfelt!

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  6. awesome news on so many fronts .... not the least of which you did not fall and need medical attention! How are you guys doing the wedding in times of covid? I hope that is able to be worked out for all!

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    1. Truly everything else was secondary to me not falling down....
      The wedding is pretty small. All the immediate family will be fully vaccinated by the wedding, and most of the attendees probably will be as well. Everyone will wear masks regardless of vaccinations, except for pictures. The two doctors do not with their wedding to be a super spreader! They are taking all precautions they can!

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