There's something about a hot shower...

My Endocrinology professor requires white coats for her labs.  I feel like I'm cheating, wearing this when my white coat ceremony isn't until August...but it does give me a thrill to see myself in it.  I'm choosing to view this as practice (yes, at wearing the coat.  August is mere months away, after all.)

Although I'm posting this now, I wrote it at noon, huddled warm in a library chair and dreaming of coffee.  It's been a tiring day.  (And to my Union pals: I have yet to find anything at the NUIG library that compares with the couch tubs in ours.  I never thought I'd miss the library - that's a laugh and a half.  You all may also be interested to know that this one closes at 10 pm on most days, unlike our oh-so-healthy 2 am.  Preposterous!)


There's something about a hot shower that is salve for (most) overwhelming situations.  My mother taught me this years back, but I never thought to analyze it until now.  Maybe it's the water itself, beating hot and fast against tense shoulders...or the layer of frustration, finally sloughed off...or that unmistakable feeling of being deeply, completely clean.

I've fallen behind with these med school classes, friends, and would much rather be in the shower now than in the library, combing the catalog for books that might help me catch up.  Ideally, I'd be lounging on my bed right now with Nickel Creek on my Pandora, coffee on my bedside table, and a jar of Cocoa Butter in my lap.

But responsibility's a-callin'.

A confession, friends: sometimes I linger there in the steam, close my eyes, and trace swooping doctor-signatures on the shower door with my fingertip.  Because I can't wait to earn the MD after my name.  And I can't wait to try my hand at healing.  But that means that right now, I've got to unearth my student hat, set it resolutely in place, and take these lecture notes head-on.

And when I get home this evening, I plan to take a nap.  And after that, a long, hot shower.

Rest.