Hats Off - We're Grads!

You already know, but guys, we did it! Jesse and I both graduated this month, which means we are finished with school forever! (I know, never say never, but I can say this one with full confidence.) One Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, one Bachelor of Nutrition Science, one Masters in Business Administration, and one Doctor of Optometry later, we. are. done.

We are so incredibly thankful all of the encouragement and support we've had over the past... oh,... 23 years. Which basically means that we don't know how to not be students, so we may have a little trouble figuring out life beyond school. (How do you live on a calendar year of January to December, not August to July; and months, not semesters?!)

It's a pretty sentimental time, as we part ways with many of our friends. For me, I've been through the trenches of optometry school with these people. They've understood the struggle, and celebrated together in each victory along the way. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little scared to do life without them, but I can't wait to see their successes in the future!

School has consumed a lot of our life, especially over the past four years. It has been a real challenge, and our marriage has suffered on some levels because of our commitments to our education. I know the "real world" is not going to be a piece of cake, and that life is full of stressors. We've learned to love through this phase of life, but we are looking forward to time together without having to redirect our attention to our studies. I definitely couldn't have made it this far without Jesse leading and supporting me (and telling me to suck it up a few times).

Jesse says, "Whew! We made it through!"