It feels nice and a little weird.
I'm having a little bit of a hard time calming myself down. The past two days I have went to the grocery store, cleaned out both the kids closests, mowed the grass, and sorted through all the junk that has piled up during the semester. Welp, now that I've gotten the spring cleaning done . . . in two days . . . what will I do with the rest of my summer?
Let's not forget that soon the children will be out of school. I see plenty of adventures in our near future.
I can't believe I already have 30 hrs completed in a 90hr program..
I counted up all the classes that I have left to complete and I should be done with my degree in 2016. That seems so close, and so incredibly weird.
This school year has been an uphill climb. The first semester I was very sick and had to be placed in the hospital several times. Sitting in back-to-back 3hr long classes while having heart trouble is no picnic. It was miserable but I pushed through, determined that I would not let this heart condition rule my life.
The second semester started with the tragic death of 2 cousins. The shock made it hard to concentrate on anything. I got pretty behind on my studies and spent of the rest of the semester trying to dig my way through the papers. There were several nights I threw myself in the living room floor and declared defeat. Roger wouldn't let me quit. He pushed me pretty hard. Frankly he pissed me off on several occasions but I love him all the more for it.
The very last week of the semester was spent jumping around between libraries, coffee shops, and the church office. At 6pm every night I took off to a location and sat working on my papers until I began to get antsy. Then I would pack up for a change of scenery. I forced myself to work every night until 10:30pm. I missed my husband and children dearly.
On Sunday, the day before my last day, I headed to the Georgetown College Library and camped out until 1am. I spent the night with my sister in-law and her husband, and got up bright and early to start working until my class at 9am. (they surprised me in the morning with a MASSIVE muffin with a candle stuck in it. It was my 29th birthday)
On Monday evening, after spending a week of working really hard, my body ached as I turned in my final papers. I sat down in the big black chairs that are in the foyer of the library and started to weep. I couldn't stop myself. I just cried and cried and cried. It was the first time that life seemed to stop. Everything around me was quite. No longer was their pressure to rush from one thing to another. In that sacred space I wept for my cousins. I wept for my uncle. I wept for my brother. I wept for my grandmother, for Lacey, and for Keith.
I also wept because it was my birthday. I had made it to 29! As my little brother said to me after he said happy birthday, "Jess, you're getting close to your expiration date." With a heart condition each and every day is a blessing. I have good days and bad days, good hours and bad hours, but I have managed to push through. By the grace of God I have been given a wonderful sense of humor that has sustained me through the trying times and an eye in which to see the Holy all around me.
After my final class, which ended at 8:45pm on the dot, no later, and certainly no sooner, I headed to my little brother's house. I sat up until the early morning bugging the crap out of him. It was like the good ol' days!
I'm currently sitting on the front porch in my jammies typing out this blog. It's raining pretty hard and the breeze is quite cool. I love it. Anna has been singing and dancing with me all morning while Roger gets some rest on the couch. He's tired too. He really stepped up the last couple of weeks.
I love him so!
I'll leave you with one of my all time favorite songs.
Enjoy
