Match Day: We're going to Temple

Well the results are in... and we matched to Scott and White General Surgery Program in Temple, Texas.  We are really excited!

Despite how this cool "red carpet" photo looks, Match day is a rather informal event at Baylor.  It was perfect for bring Christine to.  She could run around in the courtyard with all of the other kids.  Christine was really excited as we were waiting, not because of the envelope that held our future in it, but because of all the pretty balloons everywhere.

We all waited out in the big courtyard, took some group photos and listened to some speeches.  Then they brought out a chalk board with all of our envelopes stapled on it.  We counted down to ten and then made a mad rush to pull off each of our envelopes... of course it was crazy all around the chalk board, so we felt that it might not be the ideal place for Angela, in her third trimester, and little Christine to be standing while everyone else went berserk.  So after I grabbed my envelope, we went to an open area and got our friends to record us opening our envelope.

It was a perfect Match Day.  We went home.  I called the Realtor that we had found in Temple, and we are heading out next week to find a house.

 So the big question is why in the world did the Hamakers choose to go to Scott and White?  There were certainly many disappointed people on both sides of our family who were all voting for different cities that I had interviewed in.
Maybe I should start by saying that Temple has a railroad museum! (I think that alone will convince Angela's dad).  No, but in all seriousness it was a very difficult decision for us. I think I knew we would rank Temple highly when I saw how comfortable Angela felt driving around there.  Neither one of us love big cities or traffic.  Living 4 years in downtown Houston has only increased this dislike.  From the beginning we knew if we were going to stay in Houston we would be moving to the suburbs.  We liked Temple because we could live right by the hospital and my commute would be very short.  I loved the program.  Even though Temple only has 60,000 people, the hospital is the main hub for all of the central Texas region between Dallas and Austin.    The facilities are very impressive, and the town is really just the hospital.  We loved the residents.  Most of the residents had families and we seemed to really fit in.  We loved the hospital leadership who I could tell were the kind of mentors I will thrive under.  Other perks... free parking.  Seriously, do you know how much parking costs in the Texas Medical Center?!  But in the end the decision came down to where did the Lord want us to go.  So I'm sure all of our families will understand that we have no idea what trials we have coming in the next five years.  I've heard some pretty horrible stories about General Surgery Residency programs.  I don't know what our little family is up against, but I know who does know.  As the Proverb directs, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."