Another One Ties the Knot

What a joy it was to celebrate a residency colleague's wedding at President Lincoln's Cottage! Built on a hill overlooking the Capitol in 1842 for a Washington DC banker, the federal government purchased the property in 1851 as a Soldiers Home, and other presidents have stayed there as well. The Lincolns used it as their summer home during his presidency, Lincoln developed the Emancipation Proclamation there, and he visited it the day before he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. It served as the Public Affairs Office for the Armed Forces Retirement in the 1990s, and there is a military cemetery across the street. After a big renovation that involved removing 20 coats of paint from the walls, down to beautiful hard word, it was opened to the public in 2008. Now part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, President Lincoln's Cottage bills itself as "the home for brave ideas."

The day was overcast and wet, but by the time the breeze had shaken the last of the raindrops from the trees, the clouds lightened and the sky turned blue in time for the brief ceremony, which was officiated by a veteran in residence on the grounds. Both the dog and the baby were well behaved. 

Instead was a beautiful vanilla cake with strawberries by Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe--and a really good chocolate cake with chocolate icing for the groom's niece whose birthday was yesterday from Wegman's, where the bride and groom ate sushi on their second date. However, some guests filled up at the cookie table, a Pittsburgh tradition in which friends and family bake cookies for guests to take home as their favor. When they finally came out of the oven, the pizzas from Timber Pizza were very popular.

I asked the groom's aunt to take a photo of me with the statue of Lincoln and his horse out front, in the food tent. Then we had a lovely conversation about physical therapy and Charlotte, NC. Inside the classical guitar player who had entertained us before the ceremony played, and in the gazebo on the side was a cover band. It was so pleasant just to sit and soak up the atmosphere, the music, the company. There's just one more of the four of us to get hitched...

San Diego Day 2: The Wedding Party

The day of the wedding dawned with less cloud cover than the day before, and it grew to be a lovely late September Saturday in San Diego, perfect for a matrimonial celebration. Dear Husband spent the morning with my family exploring Balboa Park. I spent the morning in the bridal suite yakking, blogging, cross-stitching, and eventually getting my make-up done. Then I went back to my room to get dressed. The groom's side wore navy or marine blue, and the bride's side wore wine or maroon. 

The afternoon was for photographs. Here are some unofficial ones--I can't wait to see what the photographers captured, especially with the stunning background of the city behind us!

Then it was time for the sunset ceremony on the balcony overlooking the bay, officiated by one of the bride's friends. They had asked me to choose a reading, and they wanted it to be a surprise. I knew that the usual scriptures and standard wedding passages about young love weren't right, so I looked half-heartedly--until one night, scrolling through Facebook when I should have been lying down to fall asleep, I stumbled upon a poem by Sierra DeMulder that said everything I wanted to convey about growing old together in beautiful verse. I purchased a copy of the collection, Ephemera, to read before gifting it to the happy couple.

NEW VOWS

When my best friend got married,
he walked down the aisle to a song
about death. Isn’t that what marriage is
all about? he laughed. A promise
to be together until one of you dies?
I regret my wedding vows, too focused
on the benign—our boundless laughter,
how I cherish just waking up together.
I should have said, I take thee and all
the treachery that aliveness guarantees.
I should have said, I will help bury
your elders. I take your hand and your heart
murmur; the cancerous growth above
your father’s ear. I take your family
history of alcoholism and give you back
a possible covenant of dementia, miscarriage,
high blood pressure. In sickness and in
car accidents. In sickness and in the mundane.
Shared calendars and anniversaries spent
arguing about our budget. You told me once
Great Danes have a short life expectancy,
only 6-10 years if you’re lucky, and I cried:
who would sign up to love something
so impermanent? O, beloved, we have
been so happy lately, it’s making us nervous.
And isn’t that what marriage is all about:
a love so darling, so hallowed and exposed,
we both volunteer to be its keeper—when
the joy runs dry, when the body fails—
not because but in glorious spite of
the unpalatable, impossible fact that
someday one of us will wake up first
only to find ourselves alone.

Then I told them that I hoped that inevitable day would be a long time in the future and that the reason it hurts is because the intervening decades are so full of joy, of weirdness, and of love. I got a lot of positive feedback after the ceremony, and I wish I could start a movement to make DeMulder the next Rumi. Happily, several guests have told me they have or will buy the book, which tells what I assume is a quasi-autobiographical story about starting an ending relationships, queerness, and (in)fertility.

The happy couple kissed, jumped the broom, and then we partied!

Good food and drinks, fun tunes, and lots of dancing.

The tables were beautifully decorated with (fake) candles, mirrors, and fresh flower centerpieces. The flowers were mostly roses with some hydrangea and baby's breath. The cake topper says "mutual weirdness forever." The funny thing about that is that I had teased DH when we arrived to San Diego, thanking him for coming "to see my family get bigger," and then we debated whether it could get weirder after he joined. Apparently it can! ;-) I'm so pleased to have gained such an amazing sister, and that my brother has found the love of his life.

Everything's a metaphor, notes from the Love Shack

While crashing through the underbrush that had overgrown what we finally determined wasn't actually the "nature trail" (there was too much nature), Dear Husband regaled me with a metaphorical reading of our predicament as it related to our marriage (setting out with good intentions, unexpected obstacles, etc.). Our path in life has been no better signposted, as we work together to try to figure out the best way forward. 

Later we made s'mores, and I reflected upon how making and tending a fire is a lot like a long-term relationship with its ebbs and flows--whoops, wrong metaphor. At any rate, it takes a great deal of effort and some resourcefulness early on to get damp wood to light. Eventually you notice healthy flames licking across the logs, but after awhile, the fire settles down again and has to be coaxed into flame again.

We humans sometimes do ridiculous things, like build a campfire in the sweltering August heat, or buy a big expensive white dress to wear for one day in your life. In both cases, we do them to say we've done that thing, and/or because they carry other meanings (nostalgia, tradition, comfort, conformity, ...).

DH and I rented a tiny cabin at a wooded campsite for one night to celebrate with one set of rituals the 18th anniversary of another. This one was decidedly smokier but no less satisfying for having been spent at a trailer with the tiniest possible bathroom. 

We ate leftovers from the family picnic, took that ill-fated "hike," and tended a fire for several hours.

Even when I spread out the coals at the end of the night, in preparation for dousing them before bed, it was surprising how much heat they gave off.

Okay, if not the smallest bathroom, than the worst designed. You had stand between the wall and the toilet to close the door. It should have had a sliding door, or an accordion-folding door, or a door that opened into the main room instead of into the bathroom. As you can see, we survived. But it kinda puts a cramp in your glamping style if you get wedged in the shower. I'm just saying.

What Attending Looks Like

I know I said back when I finished residency and shared my last bloopers post this summer that I wouldn't start a new series about attendinghood. However, every once in a while I would like to give you a window into my world.

Despite how incredibly over-busy I was this week, I made time to look up the tracking number for a parcel that the email that showed up in my work in-box claimed was from the American Board of Internal Medicine. I didn't end up reporting it as phishing, but it sure seemed fishy to get an unsolicited shipping announcement with a link. (Instead of clicking on it, I copied the purported tracking number and entered it into the USPS web tracker. It appeared legit.) Lo and behold, on Friday a big flat package arrived in the mail with my certificate in Internal Medicine. (Photo altered from my real name + MD to "Frau Doktor Doctor, MD PhD.")

The other package that arrived at the same time contained three Lyrica "surgical caps" from Etsy. I started my first two weeks as a ward attending in the hospital today, and I wanted to take extra precautions not to bring COVID home with me. In addition to wearing scrubs (which I don't do when I see patients in the clinic), I bought the caps to cover my hair. They say "one size fits most," but I am unfortunately in the minority: if I pull them all the way forward, the front edge reaches my eyebrows! (My child-sized head is the reason I failed all N95 mask fittings until Thursday, when a special set-up showed that there is exactly one model that fits my petite jaw. The nurse running the test told me I should have eaten more ice cream, because the masks fit better with a double chin.) Dear Husband even demonstrated his remarkable attachment to me by walking 4 miles round trip through Homewood Cemetery on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon to a locally owned shoe store so I could try on Dansko clogs to wear instead of my usual sneakers. The risk of me bringing COVID home on my shoes is honestly pretty low, but the risk of me bringing home a drug-resistant bacterium is actually pretty high. They didn't have the fancy punched-out leather ones from their website, so I went with a matte black, waterproof pair that were very comfortable for the 12 hours I wore them on my first shift.

I don't work directly with COVID patients, but I might take care of some while their tests are pending. And there are plenty of others with chest pain, back pain, cancer, asthma exacerbations, bloodstream infections, unexplained kidney failure, delirium after a prolonged hospitalization, and everything else I'll see between now and Thanksgiving. Low person on the totem pole again as junior faculty, I am working on Thanksgiving, just like intern year. I suppose it's just as well, because 2020 is not the year to travel across state lines to eat with other people, not matter how much we love and miss them. (I'm also working Christmas.) Please stay safe out there, wear your masks, and distance as much as you can. Yesterday we got a briefing from the Chair of Medicine about new bed spaces being opened up and asking for volunteers to staff them. We're seeing the aftermath of indiscretions on Halloween weekend, but also coworkers, church members, and households not taking as much as care as maybe they could have. Maybe scrubs, caps, and clogs are "hygiene theater" like having your temperature taken when you walk into the hospital building--today I was so cold after my hike from the far parking garage that the automated robot reader couldn't pick up my temperature at all--but maybe the fact that I'm willing to dress like the virus is serious will help someone else take it seriously too.

Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary!

Today Dear Husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. This year there was no trip, no theater performance, not even a fancy dinner from our favorite restaurant, Altius, which is not even offering take-out right now (thanks, COVID). We did the best we could to celebrate together anyway: DH wore a button-down shirt to pick up salad, steak, and scallops from Paris 66 Bistro; and I set the table with our best china. He picked out smooth tunes from Dave Brubeck, while I dialed up "restaurant background noise" on YouTube. He lit our unity candle, while I pulled out our wedding photo album.

The food was as good as could be expected for having been cooked and brought home. The company was the best! We enjoyed looking through the photos; too bad the honeymoon album is still in a box somewhere. We even danced in the dining room while waiting for the ice cream cake to soften enough to cut. We ate it off the hand-painted plates I purchased on sale in Meissen, which I only just realized depict the Chinese Zodiac. Although we are a Pig and a Dog, we somehow ended up with a Monkey and a Rat. Oh well. I'm still hoping we can take a second honeymoon to the Greek isles...maybe next year. 

Thank you to everyone who helped two "kids" have a special wedding 15 years ago. Many couples aren't so lucky this year, but hopefully they will find truth in the adage that a wedding is only the first day of the rest of your lives together. Oh, the adventures we're having:

"I, Frau Doktor Doctor, take you, Dear Husband, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part. In the presence of God, our family and friends, I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to journey with you wherever life’s adventures may take us, for as long as we both shall live."

Quarantine

Sometimes marriage looks like sleeping on the couch for 4+ nights in a row while your spouse hacks up a lung in your conjugal bed in the pest house formerly known as your joint bedroom. Dear Husband been laid low with what we suspect is influenza, but he felt too poorly to go to the doctor to get tested, so we've been treating him symptomatically with Day/Nyquil, ibuprofen, and whatever food or drink appeals to his diminished taste buds (mostly Gatorade and orange slices). He's starting to sound more like himself, so he's probably over the hump and on the mend for the next several days.

p.s. Yes, that is a canister of bleach wipes. I've been using them twice a day on door knobs, light switches, faucet handles, etc.

p.p.s. "Flu season" peaked late this year, with influenza A cases only starting to decline this past week; influenza B hasn't even started its ascent yet. If you haven't gotten a flu shot this winter, it's not too late! Remember that it takes 2 weeks for your body to respond to the vaccine, so sooner is better than later.

p.p.p.s. If you happen to be laid up with the flu, let This Podcast Will Kill You's influenza episode entertain you with the history and epidemiology of this disease.

p.p.p.p.s. Wash your hands/cover your cough!

Rememberlutions 2018: Here's to the Year that Was

I have a tradition of collecting good memories throughout the year to look back on at the end. 2018's jar was full of ticket stubs and little scraps of paper. Here they are, in no particular order, with some as-yet unpublished photos.

In January, Dear Husband and I thumbed our noses at the frigid temps of the "bomb cyclone" with tropical drinks and friends S.B. and R.B. I also visited my paternal relatives in Charlotte, NC, for MLK Weekend.

In March, we visited family (and alligators!) in Florida for Spring Break. Then M.A.P. (My Awesome Parents) visited, and we ate our way through Allentown.

In April I treated myself to "Potted Potter," a comedic abridged version of the books/movies. We also watched a local production of Jane Eyre at WQED's Fred Rogers Studio. Unfortunately, their Jane was much too feisty for me. In my head, she was quieter and mousier.

In May I traveled back to Champaign for two retirement parties and to see old friends. I want to remember the smell of lilacs there in May.

In June we laughed our @$$es off at The Reduced Shakespeare performance.

In August, DH and I celebrated 13 years of marriage, and in October, 20 years of being a couple. (Flowers above.)

Over Labor Day weekend, DH, friend A.S., and I visited the Art of the Brick exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center, where we geeked out at the amazing things Nathan Sawaya can do with Legos.

In October we memorialized my grandfather with military and Sokol honors (right). Also, being an Elite Yelper for the second year in a row entitled us to attend the best Halloween party in the city.

In December, DH and I joined friends J.H.R. and K.R. at Peter Jackson's British Great War documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old.

I want to remember...
- The intern who thought I was so good I must be a third-year resident (I was a second-year at the time).
- That time I predicted a patient had "sick sinus syndrome" and the electrophysiology fellow disagreed--at first!
- Every time another resident sought my opinion as a colleague.
- Being mistaken for a new attending because of my Palliative Care phone skills.
- How it felt to be challenged to speak to medical students the way I talk to patients.
- Every attending, fellow, intern, and medical student who told me how pleased they were that I was their senior resident.
- Seeing my first Acute Tubular Necrosis (ATN) muddy brown cast under a microscope.
- The second time I took the microphone for Chairman's Report, I did better than the first.
- Playing "Marco Polo" with my attending in his office building.
- When the care manager told me, "You are the best resident at running rounds."
- How much personal growth I underwent while rotating as the Neonatal ICU triage on the way to pediatric Emergency Department sedation resident.
- The repercussions after improperly supervising a medical student doing a HEADS exam.
- The sound of Haendel's Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Mendelssohn Choir.
- Every nurse and every patient who thanked me for my enthusiasm and good doctoring.
- The patient's wife who kissed me on the cheek after  I comforted her.
- That one attending complimented me for writing "fellow-level notes."
- The 90-year-old patient who called me "Dr. Magic" and teased that I had a healing handshake.
- When a colleague stopped me in the hallway to say he doesn't study very much but always enjoys my Teaching Rounds posts.
- That I knocked my research presentation to the Internal Medicine Department out of the park.

Once, three different people in three weeks described me as "a calm team leader." Other compliments included "lifesaver" and "consummate team player." Then there was the time a genetics fellow complimented me months later on doing a really good neurology exam on a patient.

Yes, I really posted a picture of a battery with the caption,
"On RED team, we're positive" in the team room.

I finally lost my Rocky Horror Picture Show virginity.

I also went to trivia sometimes on Wednesday evening. Once I won both a free drink and third place in the competition with a team called "TiKel Me Kristen."

The friend who sent me this note: "Lady, You are valued. You are a force to be reckoned with. You are amazing. Thinking of you."

Baseball games:
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Philadelphia Phillies at Spectrum Field (Largo/Clearwater blog post)
We also watched the Baltimore Orioles lose to the Toronto Blue Jays at Ed Smith Stadium (Sarasota blog post)
Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates on Johns Hopkins Alumni Day
Pittsburgh Pirates vs New York Mets on a HOT day at the end of July
Butler Bluesox vs Kokomo Jackrabbits with new friends in the Home of the Jeep

Also, we attended Pitt Gymnastics vs North Carolina State, Temple, and Towson University. This was a neat date, since our third date ever was to a Towson gymnastics meet. We also had a hot date at the hospital cafeteria together.

DH and I shared the experience of a lifetime with some artistic friends at a concert called "Into the Earth" that literally took place IN A CAVE. These are some of the same people with whom we went on retreat, retreat! to Raccoon Creek State Park.

Presenting in Los Angeles with the American Association for the History of Medicine and in Pittsburgh with the German Studies Association. I'll be at both conferences in 2019, in Columbus, OH, and in Portland, OR.

Enjoying the floral displays at the Phipps Botanical Garden for Valentine's Day, in the spring, and the holiday decorations with friend J.B. [post and pics coming!].

Finally, DH and I adopted Rosamunde "Rosie" from the local humane society. She has fattened up nicely, has a beautiful coat and glorious purr, and there will surely be many more photos of her on this blog.

I had HOPED to share I had finally gotten my first solo academic history piece published, but it still hasn't happened yet. I am looking forward to being recruited to join the Pitt faculty without the need for further training (i.e. a fellowship, a medical education degree).


Editor's Note: You can find previous years' blog posts here: 2017, 2016, 2015 Parts 1 and 2.

A good little tree

Dear Husband (DH) and I cut down a Christmas tree every year. We like the way they look and smell, it supports a local business, and the jaunt has become a tradition in our household. Intern year I found us a family-run farm not too far from the city. I think we had a good experience. Second year I nearly lost my cell phone in the university gym beforehand, causing us to start late and arrive at dusk, in the freezing rain. We opted for a pre-cut tree at the same farm that time. This year was supposed to be different but may have been worse, because we again got started late, and while waiting for DH to return from the gas station with the cash needed to pay for the tree that I had cut down in the dark by myself, the proprietor mentioned that his son sources "their" pre-cut trees from another farm--and, presumably, marks them up 200%. I decided we won't be back, as they're already making enough money to put an addition on their home. Although we will miss the fun of tramping around to pick out the tree, next year I think we'll buy a cheaper one closer to town that benefits a Scout troop or our co-op grocery store.

Things lost during this tree-hunting trip: time, daylight, us (missed a turn), patience, the teamwork experience of sawing together, our naivete about pre-cut trees, an earring.

When we finally got the tree home, we put on Haendel's Messiah while we set it up in the bay window in our upstairs front room, where our comfy chairs and laptops are. Unsure how our new cat Rosie "The Huntress" would handle having a live tree in her space, we decided only to hang unbreakable ornaments. With plenty made of wood, yarn, straw, plastic, cloth, and beads--plus lights, garland, and a dozen candy canes--it is a very festive addition to our study. The tree is still standing, and we enjoy it every night with a steaming mug of our favorite hot beverages. Merry Christmas!

Editor's Note: You might appreciate this entry from the Were We Ever That Young? machine.

Happy 12th Anniversary: It's not all roses

I took Dear Husband to Altius for our 12th wedding anniversary. The evening did not start out well. I had just gotten up from a nap after my first 24-hour shift and hastily gotten dressed in the new frock DH had bought me for my birthday, but once in the car and running 10 minutes late, I discovered I had neglected to put on a slip and decided I didn't like the jewelry ​I had picked out (remembered the silk shawl, forgot my pearls [traditional 12th anniversary gifts]). We pulled up for valet parking, and as I stepped into the restaurant, I broke a heel in front of everyone. After we ordered, DH decided to give me his anniversary card early, because of the message: it not all been roses, but we've walked the path together. We opened our other cards and decorated the windowsill with them, just like we did in his hospital rooms.

In our corner seat, we had an excellent view of the Three Rivers Regatta and the speed boat finals happening at the Point. That's what DH is paying attention to instead of his steak. (Isn't he handsome?) Behind him you can see the observation deck for the Duquesne Incline, from which the shorts-clad sightseers were watching us as well as the race.

The food was fancy: watermelon salad (above) and scallops for me, steak for the Mister. Our meal also came with two amuse bouches, unlimited bread with spreads, and two little dessert bites to take home with us. Like most fine restaurants, when we didn't have room to order a full dessert, they offered us a small complimentary​ one. The price is high enough that we will only eat dinner here for special occasions, but maybe we'll come back sooner to try their deconstructed desserts.

Over dinner, we tried to remember all the places we've gone to celebrate our anniversaries: Chicago, St. Louis/Kansas City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Madison, San Francisco, Metropolis, and (over the coming Labor Day Weekend) Columbus. On occasion life has been too hectic for us to get out of town, but we do always try to dress up and eat good food in honor of another year as husband and wife. For instance, last year we celebrated our eleventh/steel anniversary at the Steel City restaurant named Eleven. Because, how could we not?

A Stitch in Time

Presenting His and Hers rocking chairs with ottomans. The one on the right we bought used from another student when we purchased our house back in graduate school. The cushions had an old blue-and-white covering, which I took off and replaced with these spiffy green-and-brown stripes. However, I didn't leave enough give in the seat cushion, and it split in the front. This weekend I purchased some brown "suede" and sewed on a pleated accent to cover the rips. On the left, we bought a used "baby" recliner off Craigslist. We are not moving this year because Dear Husband hasn't found a job yet, and we don't want to end up in one part of the city if he finds work in a different part. Because we will most likely wait out residency in this townhouse, I decided we needed two chairs upstairs. Now we can sit next to each other and work on our respective laptops while rocking! [Picture cut off at the top so you don't have to see all our junk.]

Remembering the Good in 2016

Well, it's that time of year: time to unload my Rememberlutions Jar. Not only is having a place to store positive memories from the year a good habit to make, but the jar itself is a reminder of the years I spent studying and making friends in Grad Study at the Wesley Foundation in graduate and medical school. In 2015, I stored memories related to the last two years of medical school such as good grades and comments from preceptors, as well as experiences I had at the theater (fun, beautiful) or traveling (memorable, meaningful). 2016 included many more arts & culture moments, as well as big life changes. Here they are, in the order I pulled them out of the jar. Click the links for blog posts or websites.

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The first slip I drew out was the note Dear Husband left me one night when he had gone off to choir practice before I had gotten home from the hospital.

Next was my PACE Palette score card from Pediatric Intern Retreat. Our class had gathered at Cheat Lake, WV, to learn more about ourselves and each other, such as the fact that I am the most analytical, curious person in the class but not as methodical or organized as I like to think I am. Later I posted what DH and I learned about our marriage that weekend.

Ticket to see "Mark Twain Tonight! Starring Hal Holbrook" at the end of April. I had bought us seats to surprise DH, but he spent the night in the hospital getting chemotherapy, so I took a mutual friend. Getting to see Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain is one of the many things cancer stole from him/us in 2016.

Invitation to K.T. and A.S.'s wedding in Knoxville, TN, also in April. My in-laws stayed with DH that weekend so I could get away and enjoy myself. Best of all, I got to stay with friends R. & M.K. on the way down and meet up with J.R. for the shindig.

Ticket to hear U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor with J.S. We were lucky enough to score extra press seats way up front. [March]

"My senior resident's delight the day I finished my progress notes before noon." He actually jumped up and hugged me. Unfortunately, the day ended on a sour note, as I got a late admission and ended up staying way after sign out.

"Matching to UPMC in Med Peds." [March]

"DH's 10th doctor-versary and my 2nd. 3/17/16." As luck would have it, we both defended our dissertations on March 17, eight years apart.

Ticket to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel at the Virginia Theater. That was late May, still in chemo season, and a friend came to stay with DH so I could leave the house without worrying about him.

"Snuggling in bed reading together (after laughing uproariously!)" [???]

Ticket to see the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in June.

"O in Medicine and Society." I'm particularly pleased with the presentation I made on "Medicine on T.V."

Ticket to see the Miami Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in August.

Stickers that read "Delilah" and "Butch Cassidy" from a pre-show ice-breaker at a Wordplay performance at the Bricolage Theater. I found my "Samson," but DH never found his "Sundance Kid."

"The sky from the workroom on 12N. The first time the patient in 1260 smiled her toothless smile at me." She was a cantankerous, manipulative cirrhosis patient, and I had just combed her hair, about which she was very vain.

"Driving to my continuity clinic in Turtle Creek along the river and through the green."

Cover of the program for "Flight: Songs of Migration," a beautiful, moving performance by Amasong, the Lesbian/Feminist Chorus. DH was in the hospital the first time, so I went with A.S. to hear friend R. sing a solo.

"Bath time with DH." While undergoing chemo, he sometimes had a good hour in the evening, when I sat him in the tub (by candlelight when his eyes were sensitive) to bathe him.

Good, old-fashioned
collective action.

Ticket stub from Loving. [December]

Receipt from attending the Winter Flower Show and Light Garden at the Phipps Conservatory, a rare work-night date with DH after starting internship.

"O in Pulmonology."

"Found a woman's wedding ring outside the gym after the snow melted." I believe the staff were able to help me reunite it with her.

"Having D.W. for dinner and playing baseball Scrabble." He and I also took a daytrip to Covington to go antiquing one Saturday.

A sticker name tag from a residency applicant dinner. DH and I are suckers for free food and like the company, too.

Ticket to see Rogue One with my brother-in-law's family over Christmas 2016.

"Paid off the Turquoise Torpedo."

The cap off a bottle of Jones Soda that reads inside: "Your efforts will be well rewarded. Be patient."

"[The Pediatric Clerkship Director/My boss] complimented me on my TA leadership."

"Selling our house! 3/23/16"

"Fixed the toilet." Surely there's a line for that on a C.V.

Ticket to watch the Moscow Festival Ballet perform Don Quixote. That was back in January, and I honestly cannot remember a thing about it. I'd like to think I enjoyed it at the time.

Sweet mini-card from J.R. when she sent my Halloween earrings.

Ticket to Finding Dory, which we saw for my birthday this year. [July]

"Getting DH's scans back--times two!" This must be his negative CT and PET scans in August.

Another interview dinner name tag.

"Today I drove a metal spike into an old lady's spine with a hammer." ~The most audacious thing I did in medical school was perform a (supervised) kyphoplasty during my Pain Medicine rotation.

"Exchanging pickle phones with [the acting intern] to talk about our patients at just the right moment." We were fielding questions on each other's patients.

"Celebrating our Steel Anniversary in the Steel City." [August]

"O in Pain Management (Surgery II)."

Another note left by DH with dinner.

"Took apart and fixed the refrigerator/freezer."

"Walking in Frick Park."

"The trees and bushes heavy with snow as we drove to see Allegiance in the theater." [December]

Ticket to see Sinfonia da Camera perform The Mikado. [March]

Ticket to see "Opening Night," DH's last performance at the Virginia Theater with The Chorale. [New Year's Eve 2015]

Ticket stub from Sherlock, the holiday special that aired in theaters in January 2016.

And finally, tucked under the jar, my program for Back to the Future with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra playing the soundtrack. [July]

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Not mentioned: Walking with CureSearch to raise money for pediatric cancer research (top left photo).

The love and support we got through DH's CaringBridge site while he was undergoing cancer treatment.

Oh yeah, and I graduated from medical school in 2016, too, but somehow between the family visiting, house packing, chemo, and celebrating, I forgot to put it on a slip of paper in my Rememberlutions Jar. (Instead, I've got a fancy piece of paper framed and hanging on our living room wall.)