Jace's LL.M. Graduation

One day I was reading the The Small Things Blog and Kate's husband was graduating from grad school and she said that she has only known her husband as a student. After I read this I almost shouted, "Amen sista!" because it resonated with me so much. Jace is many things:  husband, friend, counselor, supporter, UK fan, best chocolate-chip-cookie-baker, superb ironer, editor, and the list could go on and on. In addition to all these things, Jace has been a student and has been in school for almost 25 years; when I think of that, some people retire after 25 years of working! On May 16th, his role as a student concluded with his graduation from UF!

Jace's parents came into town for his graduation and we had a wonderful weekend together. I don't think proud described Dana and Rickey that day. They are proud of his hard work, his dedication, and persistence which has led to a wonderful job. I can tell how happy they are as parents knowing that he can provide for himself and is doing what he truly loves.

It was a wonderful day and now that its passed, we are adjusting to life without school. Who knew how much free time we would have together! No more papers, problems, or finals! Can I get a Hallelujah! On August 3, 2013 Kory Wilcoxson married us and said that that day would be the start of the rest of our lives. Yes, that was correct but really May 16th, 2014 was the start to the rest of our lives. Honey, I've been lovin' it ever since!

But in all seriousness, Jace's journey has also been my journey. We have walked this path together and Lord only knows there have been peaks and pits but we did it together, hand-in-hand. At times, I think Jace worries that he has "dragged" me along and some people may think that. I assure him that I would do this all over again and that I wouldn't do this with anyone but him. You see, his dream has been my dream too. I wrote in his graduation card what a blessing it was for me to experience all of this with him. He accomplished his dreams and I got to witness it first-hand. How many people truly accomplish what they set out to do? Jace did, and I got to be in the front row seat!

This journey has shaped our relationship and marriage and the way we communicate. Lord knows I made that boy talk on the phone for years and it is has made an impact on how we handle our differences and just life in general. In addition, we don't take our time for granted because we remember how taxing (pun intended) the distance was on our relationship. Though the journey was long (and I'm sure some people questioned if Jace was ever going to finish school), it really was the biggest blessing for the both of us.

Now that our school days are behind us, we are so excited. We are excited about moving to the Nashville area and just living life sans school. I, for one, am excited to just live life without worrying about finals every December and May! The next graduation I will go to will be our child's Kindergarten graduation and honey, believe me when I say that won't be for a L-O-N-G time.  So until then, we're just going to continue enjoying this crazy journey of ours!