Scrubbing my way to the top

I work near a prestigious law school, and I see and talk to many of the law students. Most of them work full-time on top of law school, or at least part-time. Most seem unhappy with the stress and tooth and nail competition. Most tell me when they get out, they’ll have a hard time finding a job. What’s more, most will have to wear suits!

At the same time, Mindy is in her fourth year of med school. From day one, I’ve been shocked at how easy med school seems. Not for me, of course…I would crash and burn…but in her first two years, Mindy was usually out of class by noon, with a moderate amount of studying in the evenings. Part of this is Mindy’s formerly Type-A ways have been tempered by more focus on growing relationships with her friends (and me, of course), and part of this is Mins is very, very good at school. Her brain stores information like a microfiche file cabinet.

After med school, Mindy will enter residency, and after that she’ll almost automatically have a job.

But the best part? While all those law students are clawing their way to the top, all the med school graduates will be wearing scrubs.
Scrubs are pajamas. They’re like sweat pants respectable people wear. From time to time, I’ll wear Mindy’s scrubs if I’ve got a day off, and maybe I’ll go into a store, and instead of people thinking, “Good night, that man is filthy and unshaven, and he’s wearing pajamas at three in the afternoon!”, they think, “God bless that man for helping our nation’s sick and destitute! And my of my! What a handsome beard!”

Sometimes, I wear Mindy’s white coat and stethoscope for the full effect. Occasionally, some invasive single mother will ask me for advice on her wheezing son, and I’ll say, “Yes, I’ll help your son, but next time I’m at your McDonald’s, I want you to give me twelve free Big Macs.” That usually sets them straight.

So, next time you see me wearing blue pajamas out at a nice restaurant, don’t thank me. I just chose to be engaged to someone who chose the best professional career of all.

(Note: A derivative of that McDonald’s joke appeared in the second season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. It was the “Shaq” episode, which still stands as my favorite of the show’s long run.)

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