and, i'm spent.

I could use a stiff drink. But, if there's anything I've learned while studying for the boards it's that pregnant women should definitely not consume alcohol.

The boards are over. Thank God. I feel exactly the same way I felt after I took the MCAT 3 years ago. I'm certain I passed, but I just can't bring myself to feel like I did well after having my brain trampled on for 7 hours straight. As my sister and I always joke, I would have rather been kicked in the face with a golf shoe. But, on the bright side, I ended up doing 2 points better on the MCAT that day than I ever had before on any practice test, so maybe this is a good feeling to have!

I wasn't really nervous about any of the questions I might face today, but rather, about all the logistical things that could go wrong. For instance, I was concerned I might forget to put on pants this morning and show up to the test in my underwear. I worried that my car might break down en route to the testing center. I was scared that the power might go out during my exam and that I'd have to start over. Well, thankfully none of those things happened. My headphones did stop working in the left ear about half-way through and my mouse intermittently stopped allowing me to highlight parts of the question, but I still got through the test just fine. There were of course questions about diseases or drugs I had never studied before, and I just did my best. On one question, I didn't recognize a single one of the 5 answer choices. I'd never seen the words before... so, I considered each one... A? B? C? D? and just before I got to E, the baby kicked, so I picked D. Hey, if my selection was going to be completely uneducated and a total guess anyway, I might as well let the baby have some input. ;)

It will be a while until I get my score, but for now, a huge weight has been lifted and I can finally relax!

Oh, and GREAT NEWS! We got the results back from the quad screen blood test that was taken at our last appointment, and they're pretty certain they can rule out Down's Syndrome, spina bifida and other neural tube defects at this point! Hooray! I can't wait to see the little guy/gal.