I initially created our wedding blog because I was dissatisfied with sites such as the knot.com and various others that are so cookie cutter. I had only planned on it being a source of information related to our upcoming nuptials. However, as our wedding plans have recently been turned upside down and inside out I realized that this blog should be my outlet to share with our friends and family our story and the lessons we've learned and how we have become even closer to each other in the process. As it unfolds I hope to show you how God has worked in our life and how my eyes are constantly opened when I least expect it.
Our story really starts with Match Day - Ken's in March 2007, mine in March 2008. As some of you know it's that nail biting day in your last year of medical school where you stand up on a stage in front of some 500 people, open a sealed envelope, and announce where you will be training for the next 4+ years. It's a rank process quite like sorority rush and completely out of your control. (Control issues will be a recurring theme in my story - listen up!) My family, friends and grandparents were all in attendance eagerly awaiting to see where I would spend the next 4 years training for a specialty in anesthesiology. I had my mind set on Vanderbilt. It seemed the perfect fit for me. I was also prepared to match at my own medical school, UAB, in case by some chance it wasn't meant to be with Vanderbilt. Those were really the only two options that crossed my mind as to where I could possibly end up. So I waited and waited for my name to be randomly pulled out of a stack of 160 envelopes. After listening to where 158 of my classmates were going to be moving, my name was finally called. I wish someone had been filming when I opened my letter. From multiple reports my face went from nervousness to complete dejection. I was not expecting to see what I saw on that piece of paper - Medical University of South Carolina? Really? I knew absolutely no one in South Carolina and I had not even entertained the idea of matching there. (True story - my aunt Dice said to me the day before the Match that she thought I would match at MUSC. I scoffed. Whatever. What does she know.) As I returned to my seat it took about 25 seconds before uncontrollable tears started streaming down my face. Thank goodness only one person was left after me so I didn't have to sit through any more torture. My family and friends were right there beside me uttering what words of comfort they could offer. It was terrible. I couldn't understand why or how I would have matched there. It took quite awhile, weeks or months probably, before I could start becoming excited about the move. I mean, it's Charleston - one of the most gorgeous cities in the Southeast, with the beach only minutes away and more shopping and restaurants than any city I had lived in thus far in my short life. I was really quite blessed to be surrounded by such loveliness and history and opportunity.
Since I didn't know a soul in Charleston I decided to find a place by myself to rent. I was dead set on living downtown. So, my mom and I traveled one weekend to Charleston to meet a realtor who was going to show us around downtown. My grandparents joined us for part of the day as they live a short two hours away. After being shown dump after dump after dump I dismissed the realtor and told her to have a lovely day. Fortuitously, after having a less than encouraging tour of "historic" homes (aka - no washer/dryer/dishwasher and exposed plumbing) I get an facebook message from Allison Lundy. (I had just recently joined a facebook group for upcoming interns at MUSC.) She was a newly hired surgery intern who had found a house with another intern (Shaina Eckhouse), however the house had three bedrooms and neither of them had actually seen the said house. I immediately called Allie and said that I would love to be their roommate and that I was actually in Charleston and could go view the place. It was everything I had dreamed of! It was brand new. Downtown. Purple! Four stories. Lots of windows. High end appliances. Did I mention brand new?? Gorgeous hardwood floors. I was sold, and so were my grandparents (who had balked at the other places) and my mom. Finally - a suitable place with two other female interns. It was a definite God wink. Checks were sent, and I met my new roomies in June of 2008. Two years of hard work later (that also included many fun times, clothes swapping, shopping sprees, ping-pong and Halloween parties, birthdays, beach excursions, and an engagement) - and now they are two of the most special people in my wedding party.
To be continued...
