Thanks for your message, Shelb. It makes such a huge difference having pals online to share this with. It really does.

I am excited about school, but heck, I don't know how good I'll be at it. I hope I won't fail miserably. It occurs to me now that I'm thinking about all the preparations that I probably need to go get some school clothes. I haven't even thought about that, and I have no idea what people wear to medical school these days.

Well, I definitely have wanted to smack him a few times over these years, but so far I never have. He's a lot bigger than I am! When he starts the blunt doctor-talk, I generally just cut my eyes over at him and say "Oh shuddup."

He's way more tolerant of letting his patients and their families maintain hope about desperate illness than he is in his own family. I need to point that out to him, but I already know what he'll say. "I just want you to have a realistic outlook." (Here's where the "Oh shuddup" will come in.)