One Focus

Our household is completely consumed with one focus right now... Hubby finishing his graduate program to earn his Masters in Educational Administration.

He has been working toward this masters degree since I was pregnant with the twins... but to paint a broader picture, he has been working on earning masters degrees in other specialties since before we were married... so this will be a tremendous accomplishment.

His semester ends April 30th, which means all of his final Capstone and Practicum tasks and requirements have to be completed, graded, and passed before April 30th.  We can have none of that turning in the final paper at 11:59pm on April 30th, because everything has to be graded and passed before then.

We have had a course assignment check list on our kitchen white board for nearly a year, and we started a final task and daily count down at the end of March to keep us motivated and keep the end in sight -- I say "us", but the fact that its in the kitchen where I see it all the time... its really for me.  I need to see that progress is being made every day and be reassured that we are nearing this end goal.

Hubby is down to his final four tasks, and his final nine days... although its really less than nine days, because again, nothing can be turned in at the last minute.

So, one reason I have done about five blog posts in a row about Easter and Easter pictures is because the only thing I can think about right now is how close we are to the end of Hubby's graduate school... and how stressed I am about him finishing while still working full time, checking in with us from time to time, and sleeping ever few days.

This is like the last 5 miles of a marathon, where we are so close, but we still have to run those last 5 miles.

I always thought it was sweet when people who accomplish something thank their families... but now I actually understand their situations.  Our entire family is in this together... every member of our family is making sacrifices in order for Hubby to complete this degree.  Our children do not see Hubby right now for more than a few minutes a day because he is working all the time.  Tracey has learned that when she sees Daddy in the morning, she should say, "I'll see you tomorrow, Daddy," because he's not going to come home until she is in bed that night... or later.  I definitely have times when being the only parent for several days on end really takes its toll on me and the degree of patience I show with the kids.

One of the hardest parts about this process for me has been the fact that I'm not the one earning the degree.  I'm the one crossing off tasks that someone else does... I'm watching the kids, I'm trying to encourage, motivate, nag when needed, but I am not the one completing the work -- all of this rests on Hubby's shoulders.  It is hard to sit on the sidelines when someone I love is working so hard.

So... all that to say, we have one focus in our home right now, and its all I can think about -- Hubby is almost done with graduate school... Hubby has nine or less days to finish all the assignments... Hubby hasn't slept in three days, I hope he's still making sense when he writes grad school assignments...

Please keep him and our family in your prayers as he completes the requirements for this degree and finishes strong.