One Down

Today is Hugh's last day of his first year of medical school. This is what a second year med student looks like:

12:00pm, today.

The last nine months have literally flown by. It seems like a mere blink ago that we were taking this photo:

first day (on my birthday, I'd like to note)

When Hugh decided he wanted to apply to Medical School, it was four months after we'd gotten engaged and one year before our wedding. And to put it bluntly, I freaked out. This was not part of the plan. The plan I had accepted in my mind before Hugh put that ring on my finger. I did not want to be married to a student who studied all the time who became a doctor who worked all the time. After I finished freaking out, I changed tactics and stonewalled any discussion about medical school for a couple of weeks. And then I cried. What can I say? I'm prone to the dramatic.

Eventually, though, I calmed down. I thought about it long and hard. I realized at the end of the day that if I really didn't want Hugh to start this process, he wouldn't. We would still get married, he would find another career path, and our life would probably go along just fine. But I knew that Hugh would always wonder if he should have let this opportunity go. And I knew I never wanted to be the reason for the what-if in the back of his mind. I wanted, and still do, to be the person building him up and breathing life into his dreams.

So, here we are. One year down. One really great year. Hugh studied a lot. I got some new hobbies. We had some growing pains, but we survived. We thrived, really. And we have come out on the other side happier than ever.

And, when Hugh comes home from an endless day of studying or five hours of exams or just a long, hard week, I know I'm the only one he wants to see. He stills picks me up and spins me around our kitchen. Would he have done that if I hadn't agreed to this path? Probably. But seeing how happy he is doing what he's doing reminds me that I wouldn't change a thing.

Happy last day of your first year, love. I just couldn't be prouder.