We're DONE With School, Just 2 Full Days Left

Well, the MERP end of our med school journey is over, and we could not be more thrilled.  Jonathan did well on his test and we have his hard work and all of your prayers and well wishes to thank for that!  He won't get his official scores for a few days, but he feels really good coming out of the test.  He has worked really hard this entire semester and it really paid off in the end because the final wasn't "live or die" for him.  He went in relaxed and confident which was a total 180 from how he felt going into Mini #2.  That made me feel so much better.  Today we will be errand running like crazy!  We have to take Matilda to the vet for her health clearance to fly home, we have to get some bubble wrap and tape to make sure our stuff gets home safely, and we have to vacuum seal the last of our clothes and linens so they'll fit into our suitcases.  Somehow we've managed to consolidate our packing MUCH better as we're coming home than when we left.  It's all a learning process, so hopefully we'll do better packing for Dominica than we did for here.  At any rate, tomorrow is our last full day here in Freeport.  It's getting real people!  But I do have to say that it's been a little strange for me the pack up this little apartment and get it ready for a move.  It doesn't feel like we're actually leaving!  I think part of that comes from the fact that we've only lived here 17 weeks.  But the other part is just my brain not processing how quickly this time has flown.  It gives me so much hope and peace about the future of this journey.  It's a long road, but God has blinded us to the time it's gonna take to walk it and has accelerated our perception of that time!  What a great God we serve.  He never asks us to do something He won't equip us to do.  Medical school at all might have sounded like an impossible feat in the beginning, but He called us to it and He'll get us through it.  Here's looking forward to the next 18 months which will be the LAST 18 months we'll spend in the Caribbean (at least as residents)!  Here's #2 in our countdown...

What I Will Miss About Freeport #2-
The many Sunset Lodge stories.  This is more of a memory than something that I will actually miss.  Even though we don't live at Sunset, a large majority of the students here do (including the Wellses).  So we find ourselves over there a couple of times a week, and we spent like 3 straight days there during the hurricane.  Sunset is sort of like "grown up dorms".  It is an actual apartment complex, but they only lease to students.  So you can imagine what kind of place it is when you cram a couple hundred med students all under one roof.  When they're hitting the books or in class, it's quite pleasant.  When the tests and quizzes are over, it's the party spot.  During the hurricane, I literally had flashbacks to my freshman year at OU roaming the dorm hallways doing stupid stuff.  Us old married farts get fed up with it a lot of times, but it does provide us with lots of laughs and plenty of stories.  Oh to be a 28/29 year old married couple interacting with 21/22 year old college students in a college setting again.  It makes me feel old and young all at the same time.  I imagine that Dominica will probably revisit some of these same feelings, but this semester specifically has been one big giant flashback.  We call it our "alternate universe" because it really is.  Some days I look around me and go "Wow, this is a pretty cool opportunity we've got here. We live in the Bahamas!", and some days I look around me and go, "Wow.  I'm surrounded by college kids.  Where the heck am I??".  Sunset Lodge has been a sort of time machine for me...

(Just thought I share a little glimpse of my world with you.  Where am I??)

What I'm Looking Forward to in the States #2-

Shopping!!!!!!  I don't have a lot of money, therefore I will most likely not be doing much buying, however I am so excited to actually get to walk around a mall and hit a Target.  Goodness, that makes me happy!  Things won't be outrageously overpriced (for example-a t-shirt here in the "straw market" will run you about $20 and will not last you more than like 3 washes).  I'm even looking forward to grocery shopping!  For whatever reason, everything in Freeport is crazy expensive.  I'm hoping and praying for at least a little break from that in Dominica, but I'm not holding my breath.  I do think that the upside to having to pay so much for things here is that we've become quite stingy with our money.  Hopefully that will translate to the states when we officially move back there in 18 months.  At any rate, I just can't wait to do some shopping at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Macy's, Target, you name it.  And if any of you are in the Houston or OKC area and need a shopping buddy, call me!  I will DEFINITELY join you.  Just don't make fun of me if tears of joy stream down my face when the sliding glass doors open...

Tomorrow is our LAST (full) DAY IN FREEPORT!!