Hi all! Another year has come and gone. This is my first Christmas letter- a tradition I hope to continue. There is so much that happens in a year, and I will try to hit the highlights of 2009.
2009 was for sure an amazing, crazy, hard, rewarding year. I began the year with my family as we brought in the New Year. There was good food, family and dancing. The countdown to the New Year reminds me each year that there are better things to come in the next year. I had the opportunity to spend this time with my family, a thing that I don’t take lightly. Being away at school has been hard and I cherish every moment that I get to spend with the family.
In April Shawn made a big decision that has changed the course of our life. Shawn called me at school and told me that he was unhappy at his job and felt like he needed to do more. He wanted a job that would make him proud and happy. This broke my heart to hear how unfulfilled he felt, so when he told me he had found a solution I was ecstatic. Shawn made the decision to join the United States Coast Guard and was set to go to boot camp. On July 31st he graduated from boot camp. I couldn’t have been more proud!! I got to share this proud moment with Shawn’s family: Tabitha, Garrett, Terri and Jimmie. Shawn was gone for eight weeks for training and it was the hardest eight weeks of my adult life, but we made it through and am stronger for it. Shawn and I kept in touch via handwritten letters that sparked a new romance in our relationship. It was a relationship building experience, who would have thought?
In August I moved to El Paso for the last part of my program to be a Physician Assistant. I have had some ups and downs here in El Paso…from great rotations to emergency appendectomy surgery. To say the least, it has been an adventure. I can also say that I have learned a lot and am looking forward to next year and graduating to practice medicine, a dream that I have had for such a long time.
Throughout this year we have grown as a couple and as individuals. I believe that everything the two of us has gone through will only make our relationship with each other stronger and better when we finally get to share our lives more than just every six weeks. Shawn has a job that he is excited about and that gives us opportunities that we may not have had otherwise. He has met new people and is proud to be a part of the USCG. I continue to learn medicine from preceptors to become the physician assistant I have wanted to be. I have also grown in my relationship with God and myself. There was a time when I was easily frustrated, hurt and may not have been the best person I could be. I have always been a generally happy person, but this happiness that I have found within myself and with God is something that I cannot even put into words.
Shawn and I look forward to all of the amazing things that are on our path for the coming year. 2010 is going to be better than this year!!
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