Tuesday, December 23, 2008

A big applause for...

Jeff!

He really is the best husband in the world for putting up with me the last 5 days, well not exactly putting up with me 'cause I've pretty much been gone since Thursday, but you get the idea. He managed to keep Pearl alive and happy (for the most part), go swimming, do some shopping, and get to daycare/work while I slaved away on my graduate exam. The past few days have been a blur really and the only way I could do it was knowing that all was well at home and that Pearl was ok. Not only did he manage to keep things under control at home and keep Pearl out of our bedroom so I could sleep in a little, but he also made me laugh at 2:30 AM on Saturday when he woke up from his "nap" on the couch (Pearl had completely worn him out that day and he fell asleep around 9:30 watching sports) and told me, "These late nights are killing me!" What could I do but laugh? Then I think I hit him or at least gave him the evil eye because while he was sleeping, I was up until 2:30 or later (or is it technically earlier when it's really "morning") reading over 40 journal articles, typing a 20 page research paper, and putting together a presentation.

Oh, and for everyone who's curious (I know at least 4 people who have gone through this monster before are)...a big applause for me too! I passed!!!! Hooray, I can finally graduate! Let's just say that attempting to save the world by solving the infant feeding dilemma for HIV positive mothers in Zimbabwe is no easy task. Yes, that's the "question" my group got. I was really lucky that we all worked well together and somehow managed to pull this off. It was grueling and I have to complain just a bit that they conveniently forgot to tell us there was a typo in our instructions and our oral presentation was an hour later than we planned so we ended up sitting at the University waiting for the torture to finally come to an end for an extra 2 hours!!! After 4 sleepless nights, more stress than I could have imagined, a grilling by the faculty for an hour, knowing full well that no Christmas shopping was going to get done until Tuesday night (yes we did our shopping today), and now a cold/flu, it was seriously the last thing I wanted to hear. But I did it!

Does anyone have any ideas for how I can show Jeff how much I love him and how grateful I am for his support this last weekend? I just can't put into words how wonderful he is for putting up with my crazy idea to go back to school. And XOXOXO's don't work for Jeff...he wants presents!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes Jeff wants presents. Nothing has changed. Try wrapping each one in a different package no matter how small like 10 dollars,in 0nes each in a box large box. He just like unwrapping presents. You are great and need the presents not Jeff. A great knew you could do and lots of present just for you

Jeff Johnson said...

Congratulations Kay!

My part was easy - Pearl can fend for herself (for the most part) and really at times it was more of an effort to not squash her than an effort to keep her alive. I'm glad I have a partner in crime with this because Pearl is more easily defended with a 2 man zone defense than with a man on man defense.

Hayley said...

Do the day of favorites, it was a big hit at our house!
congrats!

The Conrad Family said...

Hey...Congratulations! Nothing like a little teamwork from the Hubby! Sounds like you got a good one!

Mindy Williams said...

Well, this is after the fact, but I would have to say get him some shoes, right? The man loves shoes. Way to go though Jen, that is fantastic! It is such a hard end. It stinks to go thru that and there is no way to get any sleep or to get thru it without getting sick! Hope you got to enjoy the holidays! Love you!

Alabama Apples said...

A huge hooray for you, Jen!!! I'm so glad you passed. Kuddos for Jeff, it isn't easy taking care of little ones. I hope you had a fabulous Christmas!

Kamie said...

Congratulations to both of you. It sounds like you are quite the dynamic duo. I hope you all had a great Christmas - and ideally a relaxing one.