Life Slips Away...

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." - Cynthia Ozick. 

Life is just not fair sometimes. My close friend's mom passed away yesterday from cancer. She had been doing well and was in remission, but metastasis were found and she quickly passed on. It's such a shock to hear that someone so special was taken away from this earth so early. She was the mom that would help you rearrange all the furniture to set up a fort in the living room, give you a huge goodnight hug at sleepovers, and bring us homemade Popsicles on a balmy (60 degree) Alaskan summer day. She was a great mom and wife and she will be forever missed. So take a moment and call your parents, family, and friends and tell them just how much they mean to you. No excuses. And if you can, say a prayer for my friend and her dad.

On a lighter note, yesterday was my favorite girl, Ashley's birthday. It was a nice little break from the never-ending affair with my textbooks to come home and drink a glass of wine while enjoying a delicious dinner. The Griffins are the relatives of Nick and Tina, our close Alaskan friends. We met at Nick and Tina's wedding in 2010 and at the time I was applying to Stanford. We hit it off right away and they told me to call if I got in and they'd show me around! Well... I got an interview and they were generous enough to let me stay here. It's been instant love ever since. Every day coming home brings a smile to my face and I'm greeted with a hug (and 9 times out of 10, a glass of wine.)  I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am for them.

Very intense birthday conversation :)

YUM.  

I'm hanging on for dear life in our first week back at Stanford. I will NEVER EVER miss these 4-5 hour sleep nights, being in class for 8 hours just to go study for 5 more, and having finals/stress-induced palpitations all day long.  All day I feel like a sponge submerged in an overflowing tub & trying to absorb just one more drop of water. How much more info can the brain really hold? :) My favorite quote abut PA school is, "PA school is like trying to sip water from a fire hydrant." Oh well... just 13 more days until I'm free.  Lucky thirteen!

Gotta love the Stanford Campus.  Beautiful!