early b-day present!

Besides the great weather, visitng my baby sister two times, having a great husband and wonderful kids, this month has been great for other reasons, too. I'm not going to write much. The next e-mail was sent today from my husband to the family to let everybody know about this importants news:

Dear Family, We have some great news/big announcement to share with the family. As a recap: I had been pretty focused/ blinders on about getting into plastic surgery, whether it was directly or after a general surgery residency. I matched into general surgery, but was at that time re-evaluating what I really wanted to do in medicine while also increasing time at home and for Church, etc. I had liked anesthesiology, but had to sign my general surgery contract for the year as stipulated by the match process. Anesthesia residencies allow you to do your first year in surgery or medicine and not lose that time and go directly into a second year position, but those positions are few and hard to come by. I made contacts with my home program's department, got letters of recommendation, and started applying early on for second year positions. My efforts at finding spots were unfruitful, but I did get interview offers for first year positions, which would require me to repeat this first year. As I was planning these interviews during my few days off and vacation days, and getting approval from my general surgery program coordinator (who was surprisingly supportive), I did get a surprise offer to interview for a 2nd year position at a great program in San Antonio. They made an exception and interviewed me on my next day off, paid for my hotel, and interviewed me that morning. They were excited to have me, and the interviews went very well. My lunch with a few of the residents was very positive, too, and they helped me in making my decision. The program director sat down with me after lunch, and they offered me a position right there after the interview. They said that they'd be ecstatic to have me, and though I was a fantastic applicant. He told me that the department chairman, his boss, couldn't interview me that day due to his giving oral board examinations to residency graduates, but had told them to make sure they signed me before I left because he wanted me in their program. I told them I was almost 100% sure I'd sign, but wanted to discuss it with my wife (who had already told me to take it if I felt like it was the best option, which she told me beforehand it already was). :) Oh, did I mention that the program director and 10 of the 45 or so residents are LDS and San Antonio has a temple and they like LDS residents? Big selling point. They also have a family friendly schedule, an almost 100% pass rate on board exams, are located in a great city, and well, it felt like the answer to our (and your) many, many prayers during the last 6+ months. Why didn't I say yes? Well, I had to take advantage of the opportunity to put my wife through just a little more stress...well, I didn't have to but thought she's appreciate the drama. :) By the time I got back (almost 3 hour drive thanks to Austin traffic), I had it all rehearsed. Claudia had wanted the San Antonio option to be the right one the moment they offered me a position. I went in the house with my tie and suit coat off and shirt unbuttoned, to look a little dejected. She was so great and supportive, and I told her things went so-so, but not great. She just hugged me and started talking about other options. I told her I needed to check my email to make a phone call, which I did, calling the program director and telling him I had accepted the position...Claudia was confused and turned around and asked me what I was doing. When I told her she was so happy that she...punched me repeatedly in the shoulders! :) I deserved it, but then she gave me a big hug and we both celebrated the great news. Taking the spot also means that I won't have to use up my days off or vacation for the rest of the year. We're very excited and know that the Lord has been once again so merciful and kind to us. All the pieces of the puzzle have once again come together. More news of getting there, but I will be starting my position, without losing time, July 1st, 2010. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts and support. We're very excited and happy. Love,Glenn and the family