A couple weekends ago I had the opportunity to attend a celebration ceremony and farewell provided by my husband’s colleagues. My husband was being presented with awards and accolades for his recent accomplishments in his field—before our big move to Europe. It was a lazy afternoon with the sparkling sun dangling in the powder blue sky. Three or four lonely cirrus clouds dappled the firmament. The host’s house was lusciously perfect. Perched high on a hill, it overlooked a natural lake of the most beautiful cerulean.
Everything was laid out and planned to perfection. The upper
terrace of the patio featured an umbrella table, stainless steel grill and a
stone fireplace (for those times one wants to be outside on a starry night
huddled near a crackling fire). Adirondack chairs for seating flanked the sides
of the patio. A large glass pitcher of
homemade sangria adorned the buffet table and gleamed fuchsia in the muted
afternoon sun. There were multiple ice buckets filled with every beverage
variety imaginable—all waiting patiently to be imbibed by those attending the
party. Down in the grass were pristine white tables and underneath one balcony
was another patio with tables full of delicious food.
In addition to the exquisite beauty of every detail of the
estate and the lake that it overlooked, I found myself surrounded by a
concentrated group of high-status, highly-ranking, highly educated
individuals. I felt conspicuous. I
always dreaded being asked “and… what do you do for a living?” primarily
because I am a full time student and work side jobs to pay my bills. All of the
other women at the party were physicians who were specialists (even
sub-specialists) in their fields. Their
husbands were the firefighters or “househusbands”. Some of these women (and a
few men) had completed 4-5 year residencies and some were juggling 2-3
difficult medical fellowships. I was inspired by such overwhelming ambition and such an earnest regard for decade (plus a few years) educational commitments.
Despite vacillating thoughts and feeling under-accomplished
(compared to my surroundings) it was a fun to momentarily indulge the
life-style of the unduly well-off, educated, young and successful. I did notice that despite
the high education level of my surroundings, all of the people were welcoming
and kind. There was not a smidgen of pretension in the group.
“It is nice to come home in the evenings, pour a glass of
wine and wander down to the lake while the last moments of sunlight glisten
upon the lake. Life is short, you have to enjoy every moment.” I agreed with
them. This was truly a sentiment that I fully embraced. I only wished that I
could have been as academically and financially accomplished as they were.
Never compare yourself with others; if wishes were horses, etc.
ReplyDeleteRather, measure your own progress against where you were, a year ago, five years ago, etc. From the little I know of your background, you've got a lot to be happy about. :)
That goes double for me!
DeleteP.S. Have you noticed how we've become unpaid workers for Google, identifying house street numbers for Google Maps and Street View?
ReplyDeleteI guess I haven't. But that isn't good, lol
DeleteYou probably don't see it, but the CAPTCHA that checks that commenters are human is always a house number from a Google Street View image. It's rather neat as it improves Google Maps navigation and we'd have to get a CAPTCHA anyway. And here I go again . . .
DeleteNot surprising! As of 2012 the US was spending 17.9% of GDP on healthcare (as compared to Canada, the UK and most European nations at between 9-11%). I wouldn't expect healthcare professionals to be pretentious--after all, you're on your way to becoming one.
ReplyDelete