Light at the End of the Tunnel

10 months to go! 10 Months before Jarrad graduates with a degree in Simulation Game Design and Development and considering where we live and the high demand for entry level programmers, I'm pretty excited about this graduation. As a matter of fact, the only city that has more gaming companies than the RTP area is Austin, Texas- they have 64 to our 32 gaming companies.

As I think ahead and am sailing to that light, I can't help but to think about some of the things Jarrad and I have been through in order to get to this point. Before marriage, Jarrad was off fighting in war then, during our first year of marriage, Jarrad worked full-time as a mason's assistant to help support me and my senior year in college. During that year I took 18 hours of class, worked 25 hours a week for a paid internship in order to help pay bills, 5-10 hours a week in the financial aid office on campus, and then any and every odd job I could find to help pay bills rather it be painting someone's kitchen, dog sitting, baby sitting, even stepping in as nanny for a week at a time as well as playing on the college softball team. Needless to same, I rarely slept.

During this time not only did we struggle to take care of ourselves, but we also struggled to help support his brother that was living with us at the time. After graduation, I jumped in to my 9-5 and it was finally Jarrad's time to start school. Through it all we've both worked whatever odd job we can find on top of my full-time job and Jarrad's part-time. We dealt with some major family issues, fought with the financial aid office on a regular basis because they don't understand the meaning of broke and living every day simply trying to figure out how to survive the next.

Finally, as that light at the end of the tunnel begins to shine through, our life is starting to shape into some form of normalcy. While only renting, we're still living in a house, with land and no more rude neighbors, we've established a great core group of friends, we're beginning to actually plan for our future (a discussion we've avoided these last 4 years because it seemed so far away)and while financially we're still a bit shakey, I can take comfort in the fact that I know my major bills will be paid each month(or at least every other month), food will be on the table and I can grab a beer here and there during a girl's night out without too much worry. I can't wait for graduation, I can't wait for that new turning point in our marriage and I can't wait to celebrate Jarrad's accomplishments and OUR accomplishments.

Most importantly, today, I'm proud of my husband. Through good times and bad Jarrad has pushed through each semester, never even taking advantage of Summer breaks. Instead he continues to push forward. And while I'm not sure he realizes how proud I am of him, I am most definitely proud. Jarrad has his eye on that light as well and he pushes himself, hard to reach that goal. I look forward to celebrating Jarrad's accomplishments because at that time, a time when I hope to be surrounded by both friends and family, I look forward to standing up in front of everyone and telling them about that hard work and letting them know how much I love, adore and admire Jarrad for all he's been through.