Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to announce that the day Alex and I have been waiting for has finally come. 6 years of blood, sweat, and tears - literally - brought us to last Friday. The first day of the rest of our lives. The day that has made all of our hard work, all of the sleepless nights, and all of (Whitney's) tears worth it. It has been a long and hard road. And yes, Alex still has a month of classes left, but that does not change the fact that it is now appropriate to refer to both of us as
Master Putnam.
Yes, that's what you call people now when they get their Masters.
We are absolutely thrilled that school is over. I keep referring to spring 2011 as "the semester from hell" because it nearly killed us. Alex has a beautiful way of dealing with his stress and pressure. Cool as a cucumber. But I'll be honest, if it weren't for Alex I probably would have 3 ulcers and a heart condition by now. No joke, spring semester 2011 literally took 5 years off my life. But we did it and can move forward with pride in the accomplishment. The nervous breakdowns will now be kept to a minimum...
So what now? Well, as I mentioned Al still has a month of classes left which begin next week - Monday-Friday, 4 weeks, 9-2 - which he will power through like a champ. He also received a position as an intern for the Great Work Great Career program on campus that he will be a part of from now until the end of July. He has worked so hard this last year and is happy to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. As for me, my school is done. Defended my portfolio back in March and after graduation last week all I have to look forward to this summer is work in Admissions and loads of pool time.
Graduation pics are down below and a lot of people have asked why I have that white thing and Alex doesn't. "That white thing" is what the university calls a "Stole of Gratitude" and a graduate wears it if they are choosing to dedicate their degree to someone. I wore it because I am dedicating my master's degree to Alex. There is no way in this world that I could have made it through the last two years if it weren't for my husband. He is my lunch maker, paperwork runner, late night waiter, fan club, sounding board, paper reader, bed maker, house cleaner, laundry doer, comic relief, tear wiper, constant validator, shoulder massager - he is my rock. I am so grateful that I have him and could not wish for a sweeter man to call my husband. He takes such good care of me and without him I would have stumbled and fallen rather than kept moving forward.
Al and I are both so thankful for the support of our family and friends (who we consider family). We are so grateful for their support over the last two years and last week at our graduation!
Oh Happy Day!
(If the video hasn't ended yet, don't stop it now cause the end is the best part...)
