Why Doc is Awesome

A year ago this month, Doc and I faced the biggest challenge of our marriage (so far).  Needless to say, it was a rough and emotional time for both of us.  However, we weathered the storm and came out on the other side better, happier, and closer.  A lot of things have changed for us in the last year, and obviously with baby #2 on the way, things will continue to change.

I am so lucky to have such an awesome partner by my side every step of the way.  Doc supports me 100% in everything I do: school, doula work, parenting, pregnancy, and even house work.  I can always depend on him to step in and help me whether it's with studying neuro, covering my butt so I can run off to a birth, finishing the laundry, bathing SillyGirl, or coming with me to prenatal appointments... with nary a complaint.  I would think that helping me is a full time job.  Every weekend he makes sure his jobs are done (he cleans the floors and changes the kitty litter and now, since spring is coming (!) yard work), and every day he makes sure the animals are taken care of.  Often he comes home after a busy day and makes dinner or, if on the rare occasion dinner is already done, he does the dishes.

Of course, that's not the end of the road for Doc.  He's also in medical school, a pretty hefty load in its own right.  He gets up early and studies while he rides the bus (over an hour) to school so that I can have the car for the day and so we don't have to buy another one.  He attends his classes and also spends time auditing scribes for the med school's scribe service (he does get paid for that, money for his tattoo) and works for the scribe's quality control.  He volunteers with the pediatrics group and the obesity project group.  On top of all that, he's in the lab putting together preliminary research for the dissertation he'll start in a year.  He's active with the neuroscience department hosting perspective students, attending different talks and conferences, and volunteering with them for different brain health outreach projects.  And since he's part of the DO/PhD program, he's required to attend different meetings and activities with that group, too.  That's just school.  Not only does he do it, he does it well, passing his comprehensive exams and getting excellent grades in the PhD coursework and med school classes.

I'm not done!  Doc is the Superman of home improvement projects and repairs.  We'd be up a creek without his ingenuity (and sometimes borderline insanity).  In a year and half we (mostly Doc) have: built a dog run and dog house, installed a new doorknob, made and installed a new door, painted almost every room, ripped out carpet, stripped and sanded wood floor, installed laminate floors, installed a washer and dryer, removed a different washer/dryer, rewired the satellite, hung and rehung pictures, shelves, and a giant mirror, put together numerous Ikea purchases, installed insulation around the doors, and most recently retiled some of the bathroom wall, installed a new chandelier, and removed and replaced a dimmer switch with a normal one.  We have already made purchases toward our next project: finishing the attic into SillyGirl's new room, and he hopes to have it finished by the end of the summer.

Maybe I'm bragging, but I think I have a right.  Doc does all these things and still makes time to hang out with me and SillyGirl, read non-school books, work out, spend a rare evening at the bar with labmates, and play nerdy Wii games online with his friends.  Although I know he wishes he had time to do more of those things....  And, if you know him, he's always in a good mood, rarely grumpy and never seems to be stressed out.  I guess he picked the right profession.  All in all, I'm very proud and humbled by Doc and all the things that he does for me and for our family.  We are so lucky to have him.  

We love you Daddy!