Thursday night we had our residency banquet. It is the best night of the year b/c you get together with all of the residents and their spouses, dress up, leave the kids at home and have tons of laughs. This banquet started out like all the rest, a great meal, some funny and serious awards, followed up with some videos made by the faculty and each residency class. We sat with Matt & Tiffany, Eric & Andrea, Casey & Phil and Casey's dad. We laughed our way through dinner and then when it was time for the awards we learned that Brandon won the Gyn award (a hilarious one to win, but still an honor). I was so proud of him!!! I know he's a great doctor, but I was really glad to let others see that too. (Matt also won a big award and Tiff and I felt the guys were long overdue!)

Then it came time for the videos. The faculty did a great video with clips of their impression of each senior resident. (I missed the intern video b/c I had to run to the bathroom.) Brandon's class never got around to making a video so he and Dave came up with a spin off called Weekend Up-To-Date (SNL meets medicine) and it was great too. The night ended with the senior video which has never disappointed in their 3 years here. Of course they had to go and end it with the song by Green Day, "The time of our lives" and credits that included all of the things that happened during their three years here. Next thing you know they lights are on. I was starting to tear up and then when I looked at the table next to me and saw Joia sobbing I lost it. Her whole class jumped up and ran over to her and they all cried together. I just turned away until I could try to compose myself.

Now, I'm not a third year residency spouse, but I became an "honorary member" b/c I live between three of them and have hung out with them a LOT over the last two years. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for Brandon and I (mostly me, b/c well, I am a girl) over the last few months as we've tried to prepare for this class to move away from us. I can not begin to tell you the bond that these women have with each other. It is truly amazing!! Here they/we are:

Now, I can't write this post without writing a little about each of these women. I'll start from L to R just like the photo.

Jodi - She is the babysitter extraordinaire. The only one without children and was the babysitter of the group. If you ever needed her for anything she was there. She would go above and beyond whatever was asked of her. One of the sweetest people I have ever met. She would come babysit at 6:00 in the morning and then hang out with you and keep you company when you got home. The kids absolutely ADORED her and we never had any doubts about why. Heck, we all adored her! They are moving far away.

Sarah - Her sweet family was one of our neighbors. When Brandon was on a sailboat last year and was hit in the head knocking him in the water, she called me before I had a chance to call her and told me to bring the kids over so she could watch them for me. She is so kind and her husband always had us laughing and her oldest daughter was the girl of the bunch until everyone had #2. Adorable family!! They are moving far, far away.

Wendi - Oh how I wish that I could have known her for so much longer! When I first met Wendi she had just found out she was pregnant and just adopted a sweet baby boy. She was mostly stuck inside her house my first year here just trying to survive with two babies. But we became dear friends very quickly. It is going to be very hard for me to see them pull out of their driveway (another neighbor) when they move this summer. Our youngest babes could be twins, but we laugh and say we are glad they aren't b/c neither one of us could handle it. She has helped me see things through fresh eyes. We were in MOPS together and also in the same Bible study group. I will always laugh at the time a mover thought I was her returning to a friends' house that we were helping. Other than the fact that she is blonde and 6'3" and I'm brunette and 5'3", I swear we could be twins. They are moving far, far away.

Joia - Sweet, happy, Joia. Oh how I could go on about her too. She is one of the happiest, most creative, always up for a challenge, loveliest people I know. Our boys share the same birthday. She will literally find something that someone has thrown on the side of the road, take it home and make it into something awesome. If you are wanting a place to take your kids to play, she's the girl to call. She knows where every park and play area is. I have never seen this woman without a huge grin on her face and that is one of the many things I love about her. You can't help but feel better and happier when she's around. And I'm glad b/c she is going to be around for four more years. Yeah!!!

Andrea - She is the very first person I met when we came to visit the residency during our last year of medical school. She was extremely friendly and made me feel so welcome. I knew that if she was loving it so much, then I would too. She was so kind in letting me contact her while we were trying to move here and find out about different programs and churches in the area. I couldn't wait to get to know her more when we moved here and I'm glad I did. They are moving far away.

Tiffany - I'm not sure if I can write this one without crying and everyone knows it. (shoot, it's already started!) When we moved here, we met her parents before we met her and Matt. They were on a cruise with his family and we hung out with her parents and their son, William, while they were gone. The week they got home, we bonded instantly and haven't separated for two years. I don't even remember that period of of "should I call? will I seem too eager?" b/c we both just dove in head first. Our husbands are just as close as we are. Tiffany and Matt have been an answer to prayer for Brandon and I. It is hard to make couple friends that both people can love being around as much as the other person. I could say that about any of these women, but these two were "it" for us. (and I can say that without hurting anyone else's feelings b/c they knew it as much as we did) They live behind and a few houses down from us. I have even cut a path with the lawn mower just to walk to their house without stickers getting us. They are moving away.

They told us about our church. She got me in MOPS. She told me about Mother's Day Out and our boys have been in the same class for 2 years. The only reason we did not hang out with each other every single day for 2 years is b/c one of us was out of town, running a fever or had a virus. If one of these three things happened, the other was lost. If we didn't talk at least once a day (which I'm pretty sure it was more like at least 3 or 4 times a day) it's b/c one of us was out of town. And we have been known to talk at least once while out of town.

When she called me a few months ago to tell me that Matt might be going to Korea and she and the kids are staying here, she was crying and I was literally jumping up and down screaming. Christopher asked me why I was so happy and I told him William might not move and he looked at me like I was crazy b/c he didn't think William was ever moving to begin with. This was so huge that everyone came up and asked me just how excited I was. Then after way too many months of being told way too many different stories and a majority of the time thinking they were going to be here, they finally found out 3 weeks ago that they are moving to TX. I was just glad they had a final answer and that it was the one they originally wanted. I felt relief for them and didn't care about how I felt. Again, everyone came up and asked me how I was taking the news, but this time even they looked like they were going to cry for me.

I'm one of those people that it takes a while for things to sink in. The night of the banquet was when it hit me. I was sitting next to my best friend who was going to be leaving me in 2 weeks and I wasn't sure I could handle it. I'd already sobbed uncontrollably to Brandon several months ago about it. Our friends were leaving and what were we going to do about it?

They are the last family to move away and I'm dreading the day that July 8th rolls around. I'm not sure if I'm going to hide in my closet or be at their driveway, but I'm sure it will be the latter. I'm not looking forward to having to carry Christopher home with his tears running down my back b/c his best friend is not coming back in a week from vacation. I'm hoping that he won't get it and will carry me home instead. He started to get tears in his eyes when he saw the movers at Della's house and he didn't play with her nearly as much as William.

But God always has a way of providing us with just what we need, just when we need it. If it wasn't for Matt & Tiffany we wouldn't have our church and I wouldn't have met all the wonderful people who go there. God has also brought wonderful people to the residency (last summer and this summer) that I am looking forward to getting to know even better over this next year.

I'm going to miss those that are leaving and I really hope that we will stay in touch so I can hear how their experiences are going in their new homes (hello facebook again). But the thing that is going to be the hardest is not having the friends across the street from me or the friends behind me that we can literally run out the door and play with.

We are going to be the ones moving next summer. I just hope that it's going to be easier than this move is for us! Now, if Motrin would just get rid of crying headaches I'd be a whole lot better!