Great news!

Jim passed his defense today on this long and arduous journey toward a Master's degree. He has some minor revisions to make to his thesis and its first submittal to the Graduate School is June 15th.

When he was told he passed, there were no streamers, confetti, kazoos blaring or cheers from even a small crowd. It was rather anti-climactic. He left the building, changed the tail light in his truck that had been out for over a month and began working on ANOVA tables for his thesis. But unfortunately, that is the nature of the beast. There are so many steps in the process, and each one seems to take forever, that when one is considered done and can be checked off, it's just not as exciting as you wish it could be. But it is one more item checked off.

What a great lesson for life. So many times we have a checklist. Whether it is one we've enjoyed creating or one we know just needs to be done. Most of the time there are many sub-sections involved with completing the overall task. Each one takes on a different life of its own:

• The ligustrums in the back yard were trimmed.
• Money is raised for a child's school.
• A small debt gets paid off.
• I finally figured out one of my husband's idiosyncrasies.
• A child displays manners in public.
  

Each one can be rather mundane at the time, but when I take the time to look back at the task that was completed, it is rather fulfilling. It is one more checked off the list. Maybe next time I should take more time writing that check and enjoy what it truly means.

I am so proud of Jim and what he's accomplished these last 2 years. I know he's not the only one to complete a graduate degree while working full-time with a family, but it certainly is clear why not everyone does it. Congratulations honey, just a little bit more.