Em Be, Eh?

Nearly two years ago (and merely a week after we'd moved here), I sat in our big, empty house, surrounded by boxes as I watched Peter get ready for his first night of grad school.

Tonight, we got to sit  in the Daniels Great Hall at Denver University with all the other haggard yet joyful families of Daniels Business School students, as we braved the rain/snow/slush to celebrate our loved ones' Happily MBA After.

I promise I didn't cry as they draped that nice snazzy "hood" across my amazing husband's shoulders, officially awarding him with his hard-earned Master's Degree in Business. At least not too much, because I had to see clearly enough to take a million pictures.

It's been a long ride. A lot has happened in two years, the most significant of which can be seen when we look at our 5,4, and 2-year old kiddos, who were 3, 2, and 4 months respectively when Peter set out on this goal. It's been challenging for all of us in different ways, but I maintain that Peter has had the toughest end of the deal. Two nights a week for two years straight--summers included--he's gone straight from his full-time job to class in the evenings. Most of those nights I'd wave to him in passing as he got home around 11pm, often with hours of homework still to do, while I made a beeline for our nice cozy bed. He's spent countless off-days and weekends working on group projects and doing research. He poured himself into a consultation for a local non-profit organization, who ultimately based a significant business move on his recommendation--and following the consultation they even asked him to sit on the board as a member because they were so impressed with his analysis.

His class took different tracks following the
core curriculum semesters, so it was cool to
see him graduate with two of his
best buddies from their cohort.

I don't think he's slowed down once in the past two years because of his unreal work ethic. (And technically, even though he got his shiny hoodie tonight, he still has two final classes to attend next week, complete with a final exam that he continues to study for). The kids ask every night if Daddy is going to be home for dinner or if he has school, which is hard enough for any father to hear, and he's outdone himself trying to be the perfect dad when he's home, along with being the top student and pouring himself into his day job, too. It's a lot of pressure for a perfectionist like him. But his hard work and sleepless nights have definitely paid off, and I can see how much he's grown both personally and professionally through it. And, as the keynote speaker touched on, gained some real-world leadership experience that even the army couldn't give him.

And I'll stop now before I get all sappy or harken back to some dreaded reference like the Pillars of Officership. But I am such a proud wife, and I'm SO incredibly excited for this next phase of our lives where we will get to see each more than once a week for dinner. Also, celebrating with that little getaway won't hurt, either.

Well done, Love. YOU DID IT, and we are so proud of you!!!

Though it's hard to tell, (because pictures are super tough for some kids),
Marie is absolutely elated that her daddy has graduated and gets
to spend more time with her than his coursework!!!