He DID it!

I truly thought that this day would never come.

After:
8 and a half years of marriage
3 degrees (BBus, MBA and Law)
4 and a half kids
8 moves in 2 countries (2 states and 1 province)
1 offer to add a 4th degree (JD) at U of Colorado
6 total years in subsidized housing
4 scholarships received
2 missed trips to Seattle (and a few more to other places)
many friendships made...

Jarett finally graduated - for the LAST time!

I couldn't be more proud of him!  Although the appreciation-seeking monster in me is wanting to write about how hard this all was for me, I can't imagine how hard it was to be the one constantly going to school and missing so much of your family life.  Jarett has worked SO hard!  And we are finally where we have been working so hard to be.  Jarett has a secure job that he loves with great potential!  He's so excited to apply his knowledge and to learn so much more.

 He LOVES meeting new people every day, who all have a different story to tell.  He LOVES that he's official a Notary Public and has that authority to notarize documents etc.  He's already been able to work on wills, discoveries, filings at the court house, litigation files, real estate files and many more things.  He's also been a make-shift tech guy around the office - which is kinda funny.  He comes home exhausted every day from working/thinking so much.  It's a real challenge in many ways and he loves it!  He's been "articling" for a month and we just can't wait until he's admitted to the bar in a years time.

Jarett received a letter from one of his professors that really touched me.  Professor Brown was unable to attend the convocation, so he wrote this to Jarett to show his appreciation for Jarett's hard work.  I thought it was very thoughtful and it really meant a lot to know that someone else saw how hard Jarett worked!

"Jarett, I have often cited you as one of the very hardest working students I know.  Your work ethic was obvious to anyone - like me - who habitually arrives at work at 7 am, to see you already hard at your studies in the student lounge.  Although your early start to the day was no surprise, given your growing family.  Now that I have a family of my own, I always wonder how students like you manage to juggle both worlds - the world of being a husband and father, and the world of being a law student.  The answer, I suspect, is in too many cases that, while law students might be able to "juggle" both, they don't manage to excel in both.  From the few occasions on which I saw you with your family, however, it was evident to me that you have managed to excel in the home front as well as in the "work" front.  I have a deep and abiding admiration for the character, hard work, sense of priority and - and I have no doubt of this - the appreciative and sustaining support of your family that this demonstrates. 

You should take no small measure of satisfaction in reaching this milestone.  It will be a pleasure to count you among my friends and colleagues at the bar in a year's time, and as such I do hope we stay in touch.

With congratulations and best wishes for continuing success in life and law,

Russ Brown"