Dental School Wife Club

I spent a good deal of time today searching for blogs about Dental School and being the wife of a Dental Student and was surprised at how few there really are! I found a couple that were from several years ago but they hadn't been written on in 2 or 3 years. I did come across a fun blog called Decorating Through Dental School written by the wife of a Dental Student, but it is focused more on home decor ideas on a budget and less about Dental School itself. I've also been reading an excellent blog called Diary of a Dental School Wife written by the wife of a soon-to-be Dental Student.

While it's not a blog, I did come across the website for the Alliance of the ADA and they happen to have a Student Spouse program (which I happened to join for $5 because I'm just that cool). Here's a description of the program:

As the spouse of an American Student Dental Association (ASDA) member, you are eligible for a Student Membership in the Alliance of the American Dental Association. Membership in the Alliance provides opportunities to interact with others who share common concerns and interests, as well as opportunities to participate in special conferences, workshops, and community programs related to dentistry and dental health.

I guess I'm just wishing there was more of a sense of community among Dental School wives. While I am in no way trying to say that having a husband in Dental School is anywhere close to the challenge and sacrifice of having a husband in the military, I am certainly jealous of the sense of camaraderie and support military wives have with one another. It's like an unspoken club where everyone just seems to understand each other a little better because of the shared experience.

I want to hear the stories of other Dental School wives. I want to hear what they have enjoyed, what they have hated, what have been their joys, what has made them cry, what they have learned, how they are growing, what has made them laugh. That's what I hope this blog will be-- a place for other wives to read about what I experience as Robbie goes through Dental School, to gain encouragement from it, and to share their stories as well.

1) WHAT I HAVE ENJOYED ABOUT DENTAL SCHOOL

I like the routine. I like the predictability of seeing his whole schedule for the semester and knowing what time we'll need to get up in the morning, what time he will likely get home each day, what time I should bring him lunch, when we can go on vacation, when he will be extra busy so I can plan accordingly, etc.

I have also enjoyed being a stay at home wife. Before we moved, I worked full time but now I have more time to do the things I really want to do like keeping my house in order, planning yummy meals, working out, doing crafts, writing a blog, etc.

2) WHAT I HAVE HATED ABOUT DENTAL SCHOOL

Not being able to help him more. In spite of the fact that I am trained as a Dental Assistant, Robbie has already surpassed me in his dental knowledge (by quite a bit!). As a Dental Assistant, I was focused on the task of assisting-- keeping the dentist's line of vision clear, handing him the next instrument, taking treatment notes, but I didn't pay as much attention to the techniques the dentist was using. I wish I could be more help when Robbie asks me what bur the dentist used for certain fillings or how the dentist used a specific instrument. It makes me feel helpless at times when he is confused about something and I have no way of helping him.

 3) WHAT HAS BROUGHT ME JOY

Knowing that I am making a huge difference by doing the simple day-to-day chores. I get so much joy from being able to have a hot meal ready for him when he comes home, that he doesn't have to stress about whether or not he has clean scrubs to wear, that he has more time to study and practice in the lab because he doesn't have to go to the grocery store or get the oil in the car changed. 

4) WHAT HAS MADE ME CRY

Praying for Robbie after he has had particularly rough days. Praying for him to have victory and to experience success but that his joy won't be determined by the grades he gets or how well he feels he did in lab. Visiting our church back home and missing the community we had there. The end of the first semester made me cry in relief not because it was awful, but because I finally knew that we would be able to do this.

5) WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

That I can be very selfish at times and that the purpose of marriage is not to make me happy, but rather to make me holy. Happiness is an awesome by-product of marriage (and believe me, I get a lot of happiness from my marriage), but the true purpose of marriage is to make me more like Jesus and to help my spouse be more like Jesus (which in the end leads to something much more permanent than regular old happiness-----it leads to joy).

6) HOW I AM GROWING

Before I met Robbie, God brought me to a place where I knew that even if I never got married, Jesus was enough. For the first two years of Robbie and I's marriage, I really desperately wanted to have children. But over the past year, God has been freeing me from that sense of desperation to be a mother and replaced it with a quiet confidence that even if I never have kids, Jesus is enough. So if I become a mother, that's wonderful. If I don't, I will still praise Him!

 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh!" -Job 1:21

7) WHAT HAS MADE ME LAUGH

Finding fake teeth tumbling around in my dryer. Translating for Robbie when he pulls out all sorts of Dental jargon while telling his parents what he's learning in school. Corny Dental puns (see t-shirt below). How there always seems to be an episode in crime shows where the Dentist is the murderer. Steve Martin singing the Dentist Song in Little Shop of Horrors.

If you're a Dental School wife, please share your experiences in the comments!