2019, what a year. Reeling from my Mom’s death, I still managed to pull all As and 1 B+ in my Postbac MEDPREP program at U of M. Due to having to drop a required lab last Fall, and not being able to handle the load of going extra full time in Winter, I unexpectedly had to take a Spring semester. I had not budgeted for that, and so finances got extra tight. But we made it through, and I got a temp software development job that started in August. They are aware I will be leaving them for school in Summer.
After the program, I studied, and re-took the MCATs. To my own amazement, relief, and immense joy, I brought my score up from 496 – which was 34th percentile – to 517. I scored 95th percentile! Having to take an extra semester meant I took the MCATs later than is desirable for applying for medical school in the same year. It also meant our family vacation scheduled for June had to be postponed. And I developed Planar Fasciitis. But, I pushed and stressed, and got in all the medical school applications I wanted “in time”. So far… I’ve been accepted to 2 medical schools!! MSU CHM (the M.D. program) and MSU COM (the D.O. program). I was turned down by Wayne State, I turned down OUWB, and I withdrew my application from U Toledo. Still waiting to hear from U of M. But no matter what, I’M GOING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL NEXT SUMMER! :D
I joined a grief support group in April, and that definitely helped me onto the path of recovery. But working through my grief didn’t prevent me from developing true depression. After struggling much of the year, and then no longer having the driving force of school, I spent months getting worse before getting a diagnosis and low dose anti-depressant from my doctor. It is working amazingly well! I feel normal again! Which includes feeling sad and grief at times, but also lets me be happy and, most importantly, functional for long stretches.
On to the kids! Amber is back in ballet this year. Dad and Colette sold the studio, so Amber’s at a new one. She continues to play piano and is very good! She also plays recorder and ukulele at school, and is learning guitar. Art, Music, and Project Lead the Way are her favorite school classes. She ice skates very well now, and is teaching herself tricks. She’s willing to put her head underwater, and so now does tricks underwater too! She has a budding interest in Star Trek: TNG, yay. But her interest in books and Legos is much more engrained! Amber got glasses this year, and she has an astigmatism in her left eye – just like her Mama and Grandfather. And, Amber joined the “slammed my finger in a car door” club.
Aurora started ballet, she loves it! She can ice skate on her own, but doesn’t realize it and so refuses. She can pump a swing. She loves to ride her bike (with training wheels), and to sing – which drives Amber crazy. She has finally taken a liking to books, but she LOVES puzzles. She can do a 63 piece puzzle by herself! She still loves hugging, and will even ask strangers if she can have a hug. We’re working on getting her to not touch a stranger’s shirt or other interesting item without asking first! She recognized she can spell words she knows by reading the individual letters in the word. I finally got her to a dentist that can handle her fear, and much to my relief and surprise, she had no cavities! I moved her to a new daycare because her old one changed brands and became a private preschool instead of a daycare. But the most chat worthy thing about Aurora is that at her 4 year old checkup the pediatrician’s computer spat out 100th percentile for her height. Which means Aurora is officially the tallest female 4-year-old in the USA this year!
As for trips: we made it Up North only once again, for 4th of July. We only went to MA for Thanksgiving. But, we did have an eventful family vacation to S.C. and Washington D.C.! We went to S.C. because I realized last year that my children and my best friend’s children have never met. We went to D.C. because Amber has wanted to for a couple years. It was too hot. But we managed to see some family, see some sites, and get some fun in.
And after years of Michael asking, I finally gave him the green light for Christmas in Hawaii, because most of our traditions are shot anyway, and this is the only year in the next 5 that I will have money. Mele Kalikimaka!
Oh yeah, and I turned 40! I actually enjoyed it. I kinda like being 40.