A sweet moment caught on video

I don't think Casey knew I was watching them...

I give him an A+!

I think Casey did a fabulous job this past weekend! And he had a harder job than most of the other dads this weekend since I was the only stay-at-home-mom who went. All the other dads had the benefits of day care, regular babysitters and/or school aged children, so they all went to work on Friday and Monday. Casey on the other hand had to stay home with the boys for four long days in a row. And he did the dishes. And he did the laundry. And he put the laundry away (one of my weaknesses). And he vaccuumed out the car. And he mowed the lawn. And he finished the playset. And he blogged everyday. And he taught my Sunday School class of 3rd-5th graders (that's an experience I don't know how to put into words!) And he played in the worship band at church. And he took Coulson to the dentist. The kids were alive and healthy when I got home and the house wasn't a disaster. Sometimes I like to think of Casey as "Captain Awesome," but he's even better that - he's almost as good as a mom!

Thanks, Honey, for a job well done! You can do it again anytime ;-)

Like father, like son...

Coulson has some stranger anxiety, which is normal for his age when strangers start talking to him in the supermarket and stuff like that.  But I don't think it's always normal for it to show up on the playground.  If there are a few kids on the playground, he might cautiously play, but if it's really crowded, he won't even try to play.  And if we're playing on a playground by ourselves and someone else shows up, he often will stop playing and ask to go home.  I was confused at first, because I thought kids loved playgrounds.  Of course I also thought that kids loved coloring and drawing pictures, but it's like pulling teeth to get Couson to draw a picture.  Just goes to show what I knew about kids before Coulson came along...

Today I sent Casey and the boys to the playground so I can do something really exciting, like fold laundry and make beds.  They came home about a half hour later and I ask them about the park.  Coulson said they had a good time.  Then Casey says, "We left because another family came and the dad started talking to me, so we left."  I thought he was being funny and ironic, but he was dead serious.  Mystery solved.

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FAQs about Casey's job

Another Dr. post...

Since so many of my friends and family are interested in what's next for my future, and since my future is currently dependent upon Casey's professional development, I thought I'd blog about the next step in Casey's work/training.

So, will Casey be specializing in anything?  I've been asked this question many times and one of Casey's patients asked him this same question.  There are 2 things wrong with this question.  First, it's always asked in the future tense, but for us, it is a present tense reality.  Casey's residency is his specialty training.  His specialty is Emergency Medicine.  The second problem is that it's a yes/no question.  From a training point of view, all doctors specialize in something.  At the end of medical school, they have to choose a residency, which is their specialty.  That may be internal medicine, family practice, cardiology, etc.  Now, a doctor can continue his/her training to be further specialized by completing fellowships after his/her residency is finished.

So, where is Casey in his training now?  Casey started his 3rd year in July.  (All US residency and fellowship programs start on July 1.)  His Emergency Medicine residency is 3 years long, so this is his last year!

So, what will Casey be doing next?  Good question.  His first choice is to complete a fellowship in emergency ultrasound.  If he can't a get a fellowship position, he'll start looking for a real job.

So, what's a fellowship?  A fellowship is further specialized training within one's field of medicine, usually started right after residency.  It is usually about 2 years, but it can be less or more depending on type of fellowship.  As far as pay and benefits, it's just like continuing in the residency program for a couple more years, but I think the hours are supposed to be a little bit better and there are more opportunities for moonlighting to make extra money.  The ultrasound fellowships are only one year.

 So, when will Casey know about the fellowship?  He's interviewed with 2 programs already and will interview with one more program next week.  Hopefully he will know something in November.  And if he doesn't get any offers, he'll start interviewing for real doctor jobs.  (Casey doesn't like it when I call them "real" doctor jobs because he says he's a "real" doctor already.  So when I say "real" job, I mean the job that pays well so we can start paying off his med school debt, saving for retirement, college funds, and maybe get to take a vacation)

If you are interested in learning more than you'd ever want to know about Emergency Medicine training, check out Casey's blog: The Emergentologist.

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