15 July 2012

Coming To An End

*Chad*
WOW we have a lot to catch everyone up on. Once again, I apologize for this being so delayed. It’s as if time began to sprint away from us both beginning in May. That being said, the next few posts will get you caught up so keep reading and enjoy.
It seems that Melissa and I just left the US yesterday, heading for an adventure of a life time in South Australia. We left knowing that we had a long year ahead of us but we never thought that our time at Flinders Medical Centre would go by so quickly. Now, we are back in the States making the readjustment, we have graduated from OIT, and we have finished our ARRT exams with flying colors. When I sit back and think about everything, it still doesn’t seem real. Our biggest announcement is that Melissa and I are now engaged. It’s taken me a long time to find the right time, the right place and the nerve to ask Melissa to share the rest of her life with me. During our layover in Auckland New Zealand I took Melissa to the very spot we first met 5 ½ years ago. With shaking hands and a knot in my throat, I dropped to one knee and asked Melissa is she would “spend the rest of her life with me.” I must have surprised her because I had to ask a few times before she said yes. I had prepared a few things that I wanted to say prior to the big question but I was such a mess that I couldn’t get them out. Melissa and I have been through a lot over the years and we have managed to wade through it all. Although we don’t always see eye to eye, I love Melissa and I love us more than I thought I ever could. I love her drive and motivation. I love her attitude and her smile. I really love her laugh and that face she gets when she instantly falls in love with the ugliest dog you have ever seen. I’m thankful to have her in my life and I sincerely look forward to our next adventure, whatever it may be. I only hope that I can make her as happy as she makes me.
But I’m getting a head of myself a bit. The few weeks prior to our departure from Australia were chocked with things to do, people to see and even a few exams to finish for our degree program. Melissa and I must have packed and re-packed our bags a hundred times before our flight home. We were faced with having to pack our year-worth of living into two bags that couldn’t weigh more than 23 kilos a piece; it was like the riddle from hell! While we tried desperately to sort out our riddle, it was also important for us to spend time with our new family and friends before we shipped off. It seemed that each week we had a dinner or a quick night out with a different group of our coworkers. Whether it was chatting over Italian food with ten of our friends or just a quiet night out with Ash and his girlfriend, or even dinner with our Chief Radiographer and our Department Manager; we loved every minute of it! Our only regret was that we didn’t spend more time with everyone before that point. One of the highlights was a going away party at Michael Fullers home.
Melissa and I knew that something was a foot when we would get random questions from Michelle (our Chief Radiographer) regarding shoe size! The cat was partially out of the bag. We knew that Michael was planning a massive going away party complete with homemade pizza from his wood oven but we had no idea what they had actually planned.  The night started off with Sarah coming to pick us up on her way to the party. As we arrived at Michael’s place I was instantly greeted by a massive amount of pizza essentials and plates of deserts. Melissa and I spent some time talking with fellow coworkers before delving into the process of making your own “gourmet” pizza. I say gourmet but mine are always a bit on the tame side when compared to other peoples designs. Some people made pizzas with everything they could find: some literally looked as if they shook the refrigerator out onto pizza dough. After we had a few pizzas down, Michael and Edmund sat Melissa and I down in front of our friends and coworkers for some embarrassment. I had thought that we had made it through an entire year with no embarrassing events or hazing. I was wrong. Melissa and I sat while Edmund walked us through a mock wedding ceremony complete with a “Right” marker for Melissa (because as the wife, she will ALWAYS be right) and a “Left” marker for me (because as the husband, I will ALWAYS “Loose”). The mock wedding was overseen by ‘Father Michael’- complete with a big black afro and a white collar! 
After the embarrassment, we were presented with going away gifts and a few words from Michelle that almost brought tears. After going through our gifts and thanking everyone we went back to the food. After a bit we noticed that Michael was corralling people into his music room for something. Then it happened! Our clinical instructor and our fellow coworkers sang us a good bye song! I was shocked and slightly embarrassed yet again. But it was actually good! Despite the embarrassment, the evening was a success and we left feeling good about our year in Australia and a little sad to be leaving our Australian family behind.