I have yet to actually post in this blog, though I have had the ability to ever since Melissa created it. I have been content to let her do all the sentimental blog writing. Today, I felt like I needed to say a few things, which is something that rarely happens in the public setting.
Maybe a short update is called for. I am not going to go back to cover everything since the last time I blogged (it was not here, but it was ages ago.) Instead, I will take you back to the end of the summer, where the entire context of the story I relate begns. Over the summer, I was back out in South Dakota with Melissa completing my internship with jcpenney. Melissa had packed up and dropped everything to come out to South Dakota with me, even though she had nothing to do and knew nearly nobody, but she did it happily. It was a nice change of pace from school life in Rexburg and it was great to spend time with my family. When it was all over, I had a lot suddenly going for me. I had been given a chance to work for theory11, th most forward thinking company I have every had a chance to be a part of. I was also given the chance to spend a few hours a week as a Teachers Assistant for one of my professors on campus. To top the entire thing off, I was extended the offer to enter jcpenney's Management Training Program in August of 2012. The offer was pending y graduation and the location was to be determined. Melissa and I headed back to Rexburg rather financially secure compared to previous semesters and we looked forward to the adventures that were ahead.
Melissa and I moved back to Idaho, this time splitting the rent on a house with my sister and her family. Before long, we jumped into the new semster. I worked an hour a day for theory11, a couple hours per week as a TA, and two or three shifts a week at jcpenney. It was busy, but nothing I could not handle. Melissa worked just at the school library. We cruized along nice and easy through work and our 400-level classes.
Before long, the reality set in that in order to pay for our final semster, we would need to up the level of income we were receiving. By luck, this came around the same time my hours at theory11 increased. Melissa also picked up a part time job at Kohl's. Things were not bad. We spent most of our time wrapped up in busy work, but still found time to spend together.
About halfway through the semester, things started to get crazy. My jcpenney store went under remodel and began to prepare for the holiday rush. theory11 began to pick up traffic, and with it my hours increased. Midterms meant more work for me and for Melissa. We began to have late nights keeping up with homework. The stress began. Suddenly, right along side midterms, my TA workload exploded. I started to get behind.
In the middle of the stress (yet in its early stage) I received a very unexpected e-mail. My jcpenney assignment, which I was not expecting until the spring, came several months early. All signs had, until that moment, pointed to Omaha, Nebraska, and I had settled on that idea. When I opened my e-mail, I was speechless. It took me several minutes to even tell Melissa that I had been assigned to the Bellevue, Washington store. After I told her, and the reality of the entire shift in my life finally began to hit, I cried for the first of several times this semester. I didn't know what to do. Melissa and I both thought Seattle would be a fun place to live, but we were not ready to find out that we were actually headed there. The timing and the assignment came as such a shock that I simply could not take it. The only thing that brought me back to a feeling of confidence in myself and my situation was my sweet wife Melissa. She took the entire crazy piece of news in stride and brought me back to my senses. She dug into the research of our future home faster than I could keep up with. Without her, I might well have lost a great opportunity to further my career simply because I was stressed out with the things in my life leading me to that career opportunity.
After this news settled in, the real heat began. Between school and my three jobs, and Melissa's school and her two jobs, everything entering the full holiday swing, I began to lose it. I take pride in being able to function well under high pressure, but I was dropping my responsibilities left and right, particularly those relating to my wife. Every nice in a while I would catch ul a couple weeks of grading for my TA job in a day off from jcpenney. I had absolutely zero time to myself and very little with my wife other than the drive to and from school. Once, I simply broke down as the pressure from so many fronts simply exceeded anything I had ever dealt with. I was putting in 70 solid works hours per week on top of full time school, homework, and any kind of family life I was able to scrape together. Melissa, with her two jobs, was not far behind.
Things finally came to an abrupt climax two weeks ago. I realized how close to the end of the semester we really were. I was, impossibly, nearly 4 weeks behind in grading, hadn't done laundry or dishes in a month, and had so much school work piled on top of my other jobs that I wanted to scream. I broke down several times. I was not sleeping. I ached everywhere. My head was constantly throbbing. I received a message from the professor I was a TA for at the beginning of last week asking to be complete with the semester's grading by this last weekend. I had two days off from jcpenney, so made the call do do what I thought was going to kill me. I planned out two nights where I would simply work through the night to get caught up. I was a wreck, but in two days I caught most of the way up with my grading. I managed to, for the most part, hold everything together. I had one more breakdown, the day before I finished up the last batch of assignments. It was not pretty, ask Melissa. Scratch that, please don't. Then, yesterday morning, I ran though my grading to make sure I was not missing anything, and was able to call my TA job complete. I cannot tell you how relieved I was. Life was suddenly brighter. I felt like I could make it. I was not done yet, but I felt like I could make it.
I write this now as I prepare for one last all-nighter the day before my final day of classes. Two tests and a big final project will be keeping my attention for the rest of the night and into the morning. I am not worried though. The dawn is about to break, and the dark night is nearly over.
Why did I write this? What does it mean? I told you in the title that I too was greatful. I am greatful for the only thing that kept me going through this mess of a semester. Melissa, my amazing wife, held strong all semester, through all of her own troubles, so that I could lean on her. She pulled me back to reality when I lost the way. She picked me up when I fell. She dragged me along when I refused to get up. I would not have made it without her. Now, as I have my strength back from seeing the end of the semester within reach, I am able to be strong for her as she enters her own time of stress and worry with jobs and finals. She is perfect for me, and I love her for everything she is and does. I feel accomplished in life, up to this point, and it is all because of her. I know, I wrote a novel to say "I love Melissa," but there is so much more to it than the words. There is nothing else in this world like the person you are mean to be with doing everything in their power to help you succeed.
I love you Melissa! Thanks for coming on this adventure with me! I wouldn't want to be in it with anyone but you!
Maybe a short update is called for. I am not going to go back to cover everything since the last time I blogged (it was not here, but it was ages ago.) Instead, I will take you back to the end of the summer, where the entire context of the story I relate begns. Over the summer, I was back out in South Dakota with Melissa completing my internship with jcpenney. Melissa had packed up and dropped everything to come out to South Dakota with me, even though she had nothing to do and knew nearly nobody, but she did it happily. It was a nice change of pace from school life in Rexburg and it was great to spend time with my family. When it was all over, I had a lot suddenly going for me. I had been given a chance to work for theory11, th most forward thinking company I have every had a chance to be a part of. I was also given the chance to spend a few hours a week as a Teachers Assistant for one of my professors on campus. To top the entire thing off, I was extended the offer to enter jcpenney's Management Training Program in August of 2012. The offer was pending y graduation and the location was to be determined. Melissa and I headed back to Rexburg rather financially secure compared to previous semesters and we looked forward to the adventures that were ahead.
Melissa and I moved back to Idaho, this time splitting the rent on a house with my sister and her family. Before long, we jumped into the new semster. I worked an hour a day for theory11, a couple hours per week as a TA, and two or three shifts a week at jcpenney. It was busy, but nothing I could not handle. Melissa worked just at the school library. We cruized along nice and easy through work and our 400-level classes.
Before long, the reality set in that in order to pay for our final semster, we would need to up the level of income we were receiving. By luck, this came around the same time my hours at theory11 increased. Melissa also picked up a part time job at Kohl's. Things were not bad. We spent most of our time wrapped up in busy work, but still found time to spend together.
About halfway through the semester, things started to get crazy. My jcpenney store went under remodel and began to prepare for the holiday rush. theory11 began to pick up traffic, and with it my hours increased. Midterms meant more work for me and for Melissa. We began to have late nights keeping up with homework. The stress began. Suddenly, right along side midterms, my TA workload exploded. I started to get behind.
In the middle of the stress (yet in its early stage) I received a very unexpected e-mail. My jcpenney assignment, which I was not expecting until the spring, came several months early. All signs had, until that moment, pointed to Omaha, Nebraska, and I had settled on that idea. When I opened my e-mail, I was speechless. It took me several minutes to even tell Melissa that I had been assigned to the Bellevue, Washington store. After I told her, and the reality of the entire shift in my life finally began to hit, I cried for the first of several times this semester. I didn't know what to do. Melissa and I both thought Seattle would be a fun place to live, but we were not ready to find out that we were actually headed there. The timing and the assignment came as such a shock that I simply could not take it. The only thing that brought me back to a feeling of confidence in myself and my situation was my sweet wife Melissa. She took the entire crazy piece of news in stride and brought me back to my senses. She dug into the research of our future home faster than I could keep up with. Without her, I might well have lost a great opportunity to further my career simply because I was stressed out with the things in my life leading me to that career opportunity.
After this news settled in, the real heat began. Between school and my three jobs, and Melissa's school and her two jobs, everything entering the full holiday swing, I began to lose it. I take pride in being able to function well under high pressure, but I was dropping my responsibilities left and right, particularly those relating to my wife. Every nice in a while I would catch ul a couple weeks of grading for my TA job in a day off from jcpenney. I had absolutely zero time to myself and very little with my wife other than the drive to and from school. Once, I simply broke down as the pressure from so many fronts simply exceeded anything I had ever dealt with. I was putting in 70 solid works hours per week on top of full time school, homework, and any kind of family life I was able to scrape together. Melissa, with her two jobs, was not far behind.
Things finally came to an abrupt climax two weeks ago. I realized how close to the end of the semester we really were. I was, impossibly, nearly 4 weeks behind in grading, hadn't done laundry or dishes in a month, and had so much school work piled on top of my other jobs that I wanted to scream. I broke down several times. I was not sleeping. I ached everywhere. My head was constantly throbbing. I received a message from the professor I was a TA for at the beginning of last week asking to be complete with the semester's grading by this last weekend. I had two days off from jcpenney, so made the call do do what I thought was going to kill me. I planned out two nights where I would simply work through the night to get caught up. I was a wreck, but in two days I caught most of the way up with my grading. I managed to, for the most part, hold everything together. I had one more breakdown, the day before I finished up the last batch of assignments. It was not pretty, ask Melissa. Scratch that, please don't. Then, yesterday morning, I ran though my grading to make sure I was not missing anything, and was able to call my TA job complete. I cannot tell you how relieved I was. Life was suddenly brighter. I felt like I could make it. I was not done yet, but I felt like I could make it.
I write this now as I prepare for one last all-nighter the day before my final day of classes. Two tests and a big final project will be keeping my attention for the rest of the night and into the morning. I am not worried though. The dawn is about to break, and the dark night is nearly over.
Why did I write this? What does it mean? I told you in the title that I too was greatful. I am greatful for the only thing that kept me going through this mess of a semester. Melissa, my amazing wife, held strong all semester, through all of her own troubles, so that I could lean on her. She pulled me back to reality when I lost the way. She picked me up when I fell. She dragged me along when I refused to get up. I would not have made it without her. Now, as I have my strength back from seeing the end of the semester within reach, I am able to be strong for her as she enters her own time of stress and worry with jobs and finals. She is perfect for me, and I love her for everything she is and does. I feel accomplished in life, up to this point, and it is all because of her. I know, I wrote a novel to say "I love Melissa," but there is so much more to it than the words. There is nothing else in this world like the person you are mean to be with doing everything in their power to help you succeed.
I love you Melissa! Thanks for coming on this adventure with me! I wouldn't want to be in it with anyone but you!
