How I Spent My Summer Vacation
How was your week? Uh huh. Yeah. Oh, I hate that.
My week? Busy.
Most of my work revolved around Ellie’s graduation from residency.* This was one of the biggest moments of her XY years, the culmination of a lifetime of graduation ceremonies: Middle school graduation, high school graduation, undergraduate graduation, medical school graduation, and internship year of residency graduation. Fortunately, we grew up in a time before the adult world honored every juvenile accomplishment with a ceremony, or else we’d have to add a preschool, kindergarten, and grade school graduation to the list. I think the most ceremonious event I participated in at the end of my kindergarten year was the ritual Pointing Out of the First Grade Classrooms.
How did this impact me, you may wonder. She had to do all the work; I just had to dress nice and show up for the ceremony, and getting dressed can’t be very hard when I only own two dress shirts and one pair of dress shoes.
In a previous life, I created videos that people paid money to watch, usually from a corporate expense account. Give me a camera, a computer, and some talent, and I can slap together a video worthy of a C-grade in the highest levels of a semi-competitive undergraduate media program. All it takes is a few, short, 8-hour workdays.
This is relevant because her program traditionally creates videos to show after the ceremony. These are light-hearted fare, filled with inside jokes borderline humor that would deeply embarrass the entire institution if the public ever saw them.
As the only person related to the program with access to video editing software that’s fancier than the free stuff that comes with computers these days, it was my charge to create these videos. Two years ago, when I only had to watch Abbie, I found plenty of free time to work. Last year, when the boys still slept twelve hours a day, I adequate work time tucked between feedings. This year, with a daughter determined to open every food package in the house and twin boys refusing to nap more than their sister, finding free time was trickier. Mostly it came during that sweet time between the kids falling asleep for the night, and me regretting staying up so late. Besides interfering with my REM, this also cut into my blogging time, so I gave it up for the week.
I think I spent the time well. The videos were well received, drew plenty of laughter, and elicited many hearty thanks. At least that’s the way I remember it in my sleep-deprived state. I’m still catching up on sleep thanks to several computer crashes, finishing our months-long moving process, and the little parenting I did.
* A quick note on my amazing wife: I didn’t appreciate this until her residency program director pointed it out during the ceremony, but within a ten week span, she graduated from medical school, gave birth to our first child, spent a week in the hospital culminating with surgery after a post-partum complication, moved to a new home, started her residency, began an excruciating six-month-long house-selling process, and said goodbye to her mother. The rest of her residency was easier, except for that part about carrying and giving birth to twins. I’m proud of you and all the hardships you overcame. And I’m sorry my newfound child-rearing responsibilities left me too dazed to help more.
My week? Busy.
Most of my work revolved around Ellie’s graduation from residency.* This was one of the biggest moments of her XY years, the culmination of a lifetime of graduation ceremonies: Middle school graduation, high school graduation, undergraduate graduation, medical school graduation, and internship year of residency graduation. Fortunately, we grew up in a time before the adult world honored every juvenile accomplishment with a ceremony, or else we’d have to add a preschool, kindergarten, and grade school graduation to the list. I think the most ceremonious event I participated in at the end of my kindergarten year was the ritual Pointing Out of the First Grade Classrooms.
How did this impact me, you may wonder. She had to do all the work; I just had to dress nice and show up for the ceremony, and getting dressed can’t be very hard when I only own two dress shirts and one pair of dress shoes.
In a previous life, I created videos that people paid money to watch, usually from a corporate expense account. Give me a camera, a computer, and some talent, and I can slap together a video worthy of a C-grade in the highest levels of a semi-competitive undergraduate media program. All it takes is a few, short, 8-hour workdays.
This is relevant because her program traditionally creates videos to show after the ceremony. These are light-hearted fare, filled with inside jokes borderline humor that would deeply embarrass the entire institution if the public ever saw them.
As the only person related to the program with access to video editing software that’s fancier than the free stuff that comes with computers these days, it was my charge to create these videos. Two years ago, when I only had to watch Abbie, I found plenty of free time to work. Last year, when the boys still slept twelve hours a day, I adequate work time tucked between feedings. This year, with a daughter determined to open every food package in the house and twin boys refusing to nap more than their sister, finding free time was trickier. Mostly it came during that sweet time between the kids falling asleep for the night, and me regretting staying up so late. Besides interfering with my REM, this also cut into my blogging time, so I gave it up for the week.
I think I spent the time well. The videos were well received, drew plenty of laughter, and elicited many hearty thanks. At least that’s the way I remember it in my sleep-deprived state. I’m still catching up on sleep thanks to several computer crashes, finishing our months-long moving process, and the little parenting I did.
* A quick note on my amazing wife: I didn’t appreciate this until her residency program director pointed it out during the ceremony, but within a ten week span, she graduated from medical school, gave birth to our first child, spent a week in the hospital culminating with surgery after a post-partum complication, moved to a new home, started her residency, began an excruciating six-month-long house-selling process, and said goodbye to her mother. The rest of her residency was easier, except for that part about carrying and giving birth to twins. I’m proud of you and all the hardships you overcame. And I’m sorry my newfound child-rearing responsibilities left me too dazed to help more.
posted by Matt at
11:56 PM
3 Comments:
That's quite a post, given that it was father's day today. You realized it, we all realized it, I think we just try to repress that whole year sometimes. And I do tell people over and over again, I couldn't have done this without you. So, happy father's day, and I love you very much.
By
Anonymous, at 12:32 AM
Welcome back to blogland! Missed you last week. Congratulations, Ellie!
By
Anonymous, at 6:03 PM
Congratulations to Ellie! Also? That last paragraph made me realize you may be married to a superhero.
By
Amy, at 1:05 PM
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