He Done Gradjumatated

It's true what they say...the older you get, the faster time goes by.  When we first got married Preston still had three years left of school and it felt like it was going to be forever!  Now, here we are, three years and one cute baby later and he's all done. It's almost a little unreal still. No more having him come home for dinner just to go back to school to work on a group project or take a 3 hour exam.  No more spending the evenings and weekends trying not distract him while he does hours of homework.  No more spending hundreds of dollars on books every semester.  I think it's still a little unreal for him too.  He's been going to school for so long.  He served a two year mission for our church when he was 19 so he went to a semester of college before he left, took a two year break, and then came back and jumped back in.  So overall from start to finish, he has been a college student for a really long time.  I just want to give a little shout out to Preston for everything he has accomplished over the last few years.  I know it's nothing rare or special to get a college degree, but I feel he has accomplished a lot and here is why...

• He took (and got A's) in classes with names I can't even pronounce, let alone know what they mean.
• He was never satisfied unless he knew he had done his best or tried his hardest.
• Every time he thought he bombed a test, it turned out that he still got one of the highest grades in the class on it.
• He actually enjoys learning and took his education very seriously.  (in contrast, I skipped class all the time in college and spent most of my time playing.)
• He was always responsible, self-disciplined, and determined to do well.
• He managed to do all of this while being married for most of his college career.  (And let's face it, I'm clingy and distracting.)
• Not only was he married, but unlike most college students he was a homeowner and shared all the responsibilities that go along with that such as paying a mortgage, mowing the lawn, fixing things, taking out the trash, etc. and he never once complained about it or failed to help out, no matter how much homework he had.
• Not only did he have a needy wife and an old house to take care of, but for the last year of school he had a baby to help take care of and spend time with.  Even when he was getting only a few hours of sleep every night he would still help with getting up with Cohen.  He has changed his fair share of diapers, given his fair share of baths, and packed his share of diaper bags. His only chance to sleep in was on weekends but he got up with Cohen so I could sleep in and have a break.  He was amazing.
• Not only did he have a needy wife, an old house, and a cranky baby to take care of but he now had a wife who went from being the sugar mama to a stay at home mama and our income was cut by 2/3.  He somehow managed to work two jobs and go to school full time so that I could stay home with Cohen.  He was gone from 6am til 10pm or midnight almost every day.  He got very little sleep at night, had no social life or time to do things he enjoyed, and he barely ever got to see his new son.  He sacrificed so much!
• Now not only was he taking care of a needy, non-income producing wife, an old house, and a cranky baby but he literally never had a second to himself to catch his breath or relax and somehow he managed to graduate in a difficult major (mechanical engineering), in the top 10% of his class, with a 3.88 GPA

I know for a fact that Preston (who is way too hard on himself most of the time) feels that he has not accomplished any of the things he had hoped to by this stage of his life but I am truly amazed at what he has done.  I never would have had the ambition to choose such a difficult major to begin with, let alone had the self-discipline and motivation to actually succeed---no, excel at it.  Especially with so many other things going on in life.  He would have been completely justified in taking some time off of school or taking out lots of loans so he wouldn't have to work, or slacking off a little in classes to lighten his burden.  But he didn't.  If I know Preston, I'm sure the thought never even crossed his mind.  He's just not like that, and that's one of the things I admire most about him.  I love him so much, and regardless of how little he feels he has done, I am SO proud of him and so grateful for all of his selfless sacrifices for our little family.  If only I could be even half the person he is!