Match Day Success!

Match Day was a blur. A very exciting blur. I got up early to actually shower, fix my hair, and put on makeup. That's how you know it's a big day. Not only do I never get up any earlier than I have to, I never make it a habit to get all gussied up! Typically I just throw rollers in my hair without brushing it and put on makeup in the car.

Carey, AGW, and I got dressed in our Sunday best and loaded up in the car making sure to bring the camera and video camera. I'm not sure why. We didn't use them. I unintentionally lied when I promised lots of pictures. I'll get them from someone else and post them ASAP.

We arrived at the International Cultural Center on the Texas Tech campus in true Watson style, just a few minutes late. We were still there in plenty of time to mingle with all of the classmates and family who were already anxiously waiting for the big event to start. Immediately AGW was startled. There were many, many strange faces and lots of loud voices. Not to mention the dozens of huge and brightly colored flags that hung from the ceiling. Talk about sensory overload. As long as I held her she was fine but timid.

I completely forgot that the envelope opening was at 12:00 Eastern and wondered what we would be doing for an hour. I was pleasantly surprised when just a few minutes before 11:00 everyone sat down and speeches began. Luckily the talking was kept short and sweet and all of the med students where invited to grab their addressed envelopes and engraved envelope openers before we all got too restless. It seemed like it took forever for him to locate his red envelope and get back to the table. I was just so ready to read it, I didn't think I could wait another second! He opened the envelope and to my surprise handed it to me! He stated "You open it. We do better when you find out first!". This is how we have revealed exam results over the past several years and it's worked so far. I didn't hesitate to unfold the paper. I scanned quickly for bold letters that said the name of a city. No luck. Had to patiently read the dang thing. First line read: Carey Watson "yep, that's us". Second line: Congratulations! You matched! "Duh! Get on with it!" Third line: University Hospital "OMG! WHERE ARE WE FREAKIN GOING????" Then I finally got to it: CINCINNATI!! I forgot that Carey and his family were waiting on me to actually state out loud where we were headed. Instead I started screaming and jumping up and down. Carey grabbed the letter from me and at the same time I finally was able to announce that we had gotten our 1st choice. I had also forgotten that I was holding AGW and scared her to death. Poor baby!

So, it was a thrilling and blessed day. We feel so fortunate to move to the city that we desperately wanted and for Carey to begin residency at such and amazing program. We know that this is God's plan for our family and we are eager to see all that awaits us in the Queen City.

I spent most of the day researching events and activities in the Cinci area. I am completely amazed at all there is to do! We definitely won't be bored. The city and each suburb has awesome parks and recreation programs that host hundreds of events and festivals EVERY day! So exciting!

Carey and I are also house hunting online. This has proven very challenging because of our lack of knowledge of the city. We are planning a week-long trip in early April to scout things out. We'll take AGW along with us and get a good feel for our new hometown!