2 year anniversary

Today at 12:05 pm was the two year anniversary of my arrival in Rochester, MN. I've come a long ways in two years and thought I would do a bit of reflecting. It is later in the day than I thought it would be when I wrote this, so it will be short and maybe I will find time this weekend to go back into it a bit more.

Two years ago on the day after Thanksgiving I pulled out of Helena, MT and cried my way through the first three hour of my drive. In the three months prior to my departure, my husband had left me, I finished my last 8 weeks of PA school, passed my exit exams, passed my national boards, worked two months in a coffee shop, and got myself a job at the Mayo Clinic. To say the least, I was lost and confused mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. The two things that had gotten me through the three months were my friends Heather and Os. Now I was leaving them too! heather and I agreed to not say goodbye and she left the house that morning before I had even showered. I met Os at his work for one last bowl of chili, and was off.

It was an interesting adventure. I drove as far as Park City, MT the first day. Stayed with my mom's cousin. The next day I drove to my mom and dad's. My dad had spent a few days with me when my husband left and had flown to my graduation but it was the first time I was home since the whole disaster happened. I saw my grandma and that was it. I wanted to avoid everyone in town, I was too embarrassed to face anyone, I felt like a failure. I stayed there for 2 nights. I then drove from Isabel, SD to Vermillion, SD...the long way, to stop and visit my great uncle too. Spent that night with my high school best friend. We stayed up most of the night, "discovered" a shortcut to get me to Rochester from Vermillion and I left the next morning.

The shortcut wasn't of course! Never take a two lane highway through rural iowa. You have to stop every 10 miles to drive through some little bitty town with a 20 mph speed limit. I finally got back to I-90 in Worthington MN and was able to contact my mover's. They were going to delay my unload by an hour. At 12:05 pm I pulled into my new "home" and 10 minutes later the truck with my belongings pulled up. Two days later my stuff was entirely unpacked and most of the townhouse set up. Wish I now had those same movers and unpackers, they would be handy in the new house.

So in two years lots has happened. I tried to go without counseling for the first few months here. Called Heather and Os nearly daily, if not several times a day, cried every night on the bus to my car. Finally started going back to counseling. Slowly started getting comfortable in my job. I think the biggest impact on me after moving here was meeting the group of guys that I did via a rep at work. He bugged me and bugged me to come meet this group of people he played frisbee with. Well, from that group I have gained a great group of friends, even a boyfriend.

I also got involved in the church. Asked my supervisor at work about the catholic churches in town. First one I went to had a great youth choir singing that weekend. I was hooked. Now I'm on the women's ministry planning committee, specifically planning all the women's retreats. I have taught a year of confirmation classes. i am now on the youth ministry planning team as well as chairing a committee to build a parish sponsored habitat for humanity house in the next three years. Within that framework, I have met a great group of women that I admire. Sometimes I envy them as they have gotten married, had children, etc throughout the last two years. But I'm dealing with those things.

Work has been the most unstable situation in the last two years. My residents change every 3 months, that I knew coming in. What I didn't expect was for my boss to leave the clinic to start his own in AZ, the interim attending doc to be a Napoleon who hated PA's, not getting the pediatric job I was told was mine when my current job was in upheaval, to now having a very straight forward, aggressive, kind surgeon that is very understanding of what PA's can do. At work I have an amazing group of nurses and secretaries that I work with that have served as sisters, counselors, girlfriends, moms, and more in the last 2 years.

So that is a brief run down of how far I've come in two years. Now I'm getting settled...extremely slowly!!...into my very first home. So to all those that have helped me along the way in the last two years...I love you! To the adventures to come in a city and job that I said I would only stay in for 2-3 years, I look forward to the challenge.