Week 7: What to do in June to prepare your marriage for July 1
The month of June is a sweet time in the life of a PGY1! You have time to explore your new home and tend to some relationship "housekeeping" to prepare your marriage for the trials of residency. Here are some important suggestions.
Get a POA
Your spouse will not be available during business hours after residency begins. Never. Getting a POA will allow you to conduct business on your spouse's behalf when they cannot. Also, consider putting most bills in your name to make both of your lives easier. (Don't put yourself in this situation: You need to make a change to x account but you can't because your spouse is unreachable by phone during the day.)
Make a will
This is especially important if you have kids! Your spouse will not be available during business hours after residency begins. Never. Get tasks like this out of the way while your spouse has the time! Also included in this category: life insurance. (Take it from someone who had to arrange a time when her spouse was available for the in-person physical exam. Cue eye-roll emoji.)
Take the 5 Love Languages test
Your time together will be greatly reduced as you move into residency. Figure out how to maximize this time in your relationship by discovering how best to show love to your spouse. This will enable you to reconnect quickly and effectively in small stretches of time. After you take this test, go [INSERT LINK HERE] for some ideas on concrete ways to show love to your spouse based on his/her love language.
Initiate Community
June is a great time to begin to connect with people in your residency location before your spouse gets too busy. Start making strides towards the goals you set back when we discussed building community.
Make a "New to the Neighborhood" Bucket List (and check it off!)
June will likely be the most unstructured time you'll have for a while. Use this time to explore your new home and establish some "old favorites" quickly.
Get a POA
Your spouse will not be available during business hours after residency begins. Never. Getting a POA will allow you to conduct business on your spouse's behalf when they cannot. Also, consider putting most bills in your name to make both of your lives easier. (Don't put yourself in this situation: You need to make a change to x account but you can't because your spouse is unreachable by phone during the day.)
Make a will
This is especially important if you have kids! Your spouse will not be available during business hours after residency begins. Never. Get tasks like this out of the way while your spouse has the time! Also included in this category: life insurance. (Take it from someone who had to arrange a time when her spouse was available for the in-person physical exam. Cue eye-roll emoji.)
Take the 5 Love Languages test
Your time together will be greatly reduced as you move into residency. Figure out how to maximize this time in your relationship by discovering how best to show love to your spouse. This will enable you to reconnect quickly and effectively in small stretches of time. After you take this test, go [INSERT LINK HERE] for some ideas on concrete ways to show love to your spouse based on his/her love language.
Initiate Community
June is a great time to begin to connect with people in your residency location before your spouse gets too busy. Start making strides towards the goals you set back when we discussed building community.
Make a "New to the Neighborhood" Bucket List (and check it off!)
June will likely be the most unstructured time you'll have for a while. Use this time to explore your new home and establish some "old favorites" quickly.
- Which restaurants are good take-out options for when you're both just spent at the end of the day?
- You are probably planning to cook most meals at home for purely financial reasons, but every once in a while, you'll both need a break!
- What do groceries cost in our new location?
- This is especially important if you've moved to a high cost of living location! It can relieve some stress if your partner knows ahead of time that $600/month is a reasonable cost for groceries, not a frivolous expense and the hands of a spendthrift spouse.
- What are some things we definitely want to do here before we leave at the end of residency? Pick a few and do them!
- Maybe there's a sweet kids museum or a great hike nearby. Go together. Enjoy this time.
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