Today's Randomness

The night before T-day, I didn't sleep very well. Strangely enough, I wasn't tossing & turning worrying about the exam, but kept waking up because I was having strange dreams. One of the dreams was very disturbing. I dreamt that a friend of mine (who is not a real person in real life), died. Not only was I very sad, but everyone around me was also because we were all friends with her. What was really strange was that this woman was a big, jolly Hawaiian woman. It was soooo odd. Last night when I was out dining with Hubby, I told him about this dream & he immediately started to interpret it. He thinks that this BIG lady was PA school and the death represents that part of my life ending. Her jolliness, the association with my love of Hawaii, & my friends also being sad represented all the good times I had during PA school that will be missed. I think hubby was probably right in his interpretation. Perhaps was dead on! HA! Ok, sorry for the pun. I was so amazed at how immediate his reaction was to the story of my dream. He truly amazes me sometimes.

PA school was such a HUGE part of my life. It completely consumed me over these past almost 3 years. From applying, to waiting to hear if I got in, to the RIGOROUS time spent in school. It was my life & now that the PANCE is over with, it is completely over. I don't have to study at such intensity any more. Yes, I will be reading to keep up with what's going on in the medical world, and I am required to do what is known as CMEs (continued medical education credits). But the major intensity of study is over, or atleast until I have to take the recertification exam again in 6 years. Hopefully, I will keep in touch with the friends I made, but I won't be seeing them nearly as often. We lived and breathed PA school together. So, there is some sadness in this part of my life being over....

But a new chapter begins very soon as I embark on my new career and I can't wait to share it with you.

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Another next major step in my and hubby's life is to sell our townhome and move into a bigger home that will be closer to H-town. We are currently living in a cute little 1600 sq ft townhome that we purchased right before I started PA school. This is our first home and previous to this, we did the apartment thing for several (for hubby it was MANY) years. We decided that we wanted to buy this townhome so that I would be closer to campus and so we didn't have to throw our money away anymore by renting. We knew this would be temporary, but it has been fun. It has also been relatively easy to care for which has been a God send since we have both been so busy. We have been accruing equity, we have had more space, a little yard, a 2 car garage, and all within a safe neighborhood. We are not staying here long term because we want a bigger, single family home & we want to live closer to H-town. Hubby sacrificed a lot to move to this almost BFE town. His commute is AWFUL. He averages almost 3 hours total commute time a day. AWFUL. The driving experience did improve when he purchased the convertible MINI Cooper S, but still. THREE HOURS a day is bad. And now that I, too, will be working in H-town "inside the loop", as we say around here. We will be improving our quality of life by moving closer.

We aren't exactly sure when we will place our home on the market, but it will probably be after I have started working and have taken care of some debt & saved some money. The dilemma now is where to move? We have talked and talked and researched and researched and will continue to do so. We have considered moving "inside the loop", just outside "the loop", or moving to a beautiful suburb that is closer (and more upscale) than the one we are in now. We saw some beautiful homes over the weekend, which I posted about & linked to a few days ago. They have communities in the Heights and other areas inside the loop & also have a community in Spring Branch on a little lake. They were soooo pretty, but NO LAND and then there is the decrease in safety by living in or near the city. Our commutes would be so short, we could have an urban lifestyle and be closer to more shopping, restaurants, the arts, museums, sports, city parks, etc. BUT if we move to the suburbs, we would have more land, safety to walk/run in the neighborhood alone, room for Hubby's "Italian sports car," it would be less expensive, a local pool (and potential to have our own), local workout facilities, town centers, etc. There are plus and minuses to both. We really like Southern Trails and Sienna Plantation and still really like this house.

So, as you see we have a lot to think about and consider before we take the next big leap in home ownership. Either way, we can't wait! We want the next home to be our long term, if not forever, home. A place where all of our family and friends feel welcomed and see it as home away from home. A place where we can have big family get-togethers, dinner parties, or just a comfortable night at home alone. We want it to be Home-Sweet-Home.