“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth . . . “

This Wednesday, Holly’s rank list is due. For those who are unsure of exactly what on Earth that means, let me clarify it for you. In November, Holly went to a bunch of interviews at different Pediatric Hospitals around the country. At this time, she now must turn in a list ranking her preferences from top to bottom. At this exact same moment, these different pediatric residency programs are making their own “rank lists” of the various med students who have interviewed at their programs. Both the students and the schools then submit their lists to a central processing system, that then “matches” up students with programs according to the two lists.

For example: Say Student A ranks IU first. IU ranks Student A near the bottom on their list. They will most likely not match. Student A ranks U. of Chicago second on their list. Student A is ranked near the top of U. of Chicago’s list. Student A, despite ranking IU first, is heading to U. of Chicago.

With that said, despite the deadline being Wednesday, Holly went ahead and submitted her list today. The fear of something messing up and the system and getting stuck made Holly decide to go ahead and just do it. Before you ask, I will NOT be saying what she ranked. I will say that, as most of you know, it came down to a battle between Cincinnati, OH (Children Memorial at the University of Cincinnati), and Nashville, TN (Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University), with Riley’s Children’s Hospital (IU) as the wild-card third horse.

This was without a doubt the biggest, most far reaching decision we’ve had to make in our two and a half years of marriage. This decision will put us in a new city, and keep us in that new city for at least three years, if not six (depending on whether Holly goes on to do her cardiac fellowship there or not). It was just a gutwrenching decision, and having to make it left us both exhausted, as it has dominated all thought for many weeks now.

In the end, we said a simple five-minute prayer together, and then Holly submitted the list. On March 19th, I’ll reveal to the world (along with Holly) where the Heaton’s will be living together in 2010!

Other bits:

• Last weekend was College Night weekend. It warms my heart every single time. I dread the day when I’m too old and it would thus be lame to go out and do “Rooster”. It was, great as always, though, to see the side give it it’s best shot. Even though I’ve reached the point where I no longer really know any of the current side members, a Gold’s a Gold.
• The College Night weekend, though, would have been nothing without all of our amazing friends. I say “our”, because I truly feel like Holly has made my friends her as well at this point. Michael and Brandi, Reagan and Meg, Ashlee, JT, Drew, Andy and Mary Beth, Aaron and Martha, Mitchell, Caroline and Bake, Steph and Allen, Bianchi and Blake, Richie and Kathy (and baby!), Chris and KellyBo . . . the list goes on. I love you all, and there will always be a chunk of my heart in the Heart of Dixie.
• The Tiger’s first Spring training game is only two days away. There is nothing that beats the smell of a freshly cut diamond on a dewey Saturday morning. I can’t wait for the day when I’m heading out every weekend to coach my child’s little league team.
• So, I guess I should check out “Slumdog Millionaire”, huh? Seems to have peaked the eye of a good number of the Oscar voters. “Benjamin Button” . . . I think I’ll stay away.
• I miss the rains down in Africa. Not the mud, though. Just the rains And the Tusker.

One love to you all. Holla