Day at the Park

Yesterday was a most glorious Friday. Usually Fridays are days of reckoning (aka Exam Days) but I took my Immunology final on Thursday because there was no chance of me honoring the class (an impossible 96%), and little chance of me failing altogether unless the law of random guessing is a lie. So I tried to muster up two neurons to fire together for the exam, and it worked out fine. I passed the course comfortably but don't get any points for my lack of motivation. That neuro exam last week took a lot of out of me, and I'm still recuperating the discipline that I expended. 


So that was the long way of telling you that I'm done with one course, but have many, many to go in these next weeks.  Which brings me to what I did yesterday instead of taking any exams.


After my meeting with the residency director of the radiology program (which was fun and made me excited for a potential future in radiology...maybe...) I decompressed and went to a friend's picnic at the park. He has five children--all boys, all aged under 7 years old, all well-behaved and the most adorable children ever.


I wasn't sore from pushing my limits in swimming on Thursday (admittedly, my third time in two years), but I am completely sore from playing with those kids. Here are some things that I re-learned after forgetting how to live in the real world (there is life outside of med school....?):

• Kids like to climb on things--playground structures not meant to be climbed on, trees, and you. Especially you. 
• Four small children plus a girl of average build still do not offset the weight of your stocky baseball player classmate on a seesaw (laughter and much Snapchatting ensue...still don't have a Snapchat).
• Two year-old children pronounce dandelion as "dan-dee-wy-on" and it is the cutest thing.
• I am terrified to have children in the future because they might hurt themselves on just about everything imaginable. 
• Kids might bump their heads on things and burst into tears, but pick them up for a minute and they will be fine. 
•  I haven't run around chasing children, giving them piggyback rides, sliding down slides, or swinging swings for ages. It is therapeutic to let loose once in a while. I didn't check my cell phone once in those three hours. 
• My classmate's wife is a super mom.
• My classmate is amazing for going to med school and still maintaining a loving family life. And his family is two hours away!
• There is life outside of medical school.