Payoff

I gave up my own schooling, I suffered through the darkest, dreariest, rainiest winter of my life (and one slightly less dreary a year later), outlived an 88 day long garbage strike, survived not one, but two terrible jobs, the worst landlord on the planet, who came with the one of the worst basement suites in Vancouver, neighbors from you-know-where, walking up to six blocks each day just to get to the car (in the rain/mist/snow), a flooded home, appliances so loud we had to unplug them to hear the TV, standing outside the door in the rain to get cell phone reception, living in 300 square feet with no dryer and wet clothes draped over every piece of furniture, and many days of isolation, disappointment and frustration, endured a grumpy husband who hated school and the constant runaround that is the UBC Civil program, and FINALLY...

THE BIG PAYOFF

Namely, my talented husband pulled through, mostly unscathed, and finished his degree. He is now an EIT (Engineer-in-Training) for around three more years and can then get his P.Eng. (Professional Engineer). We can live comfortably with what he makes now and pay off his student loans before too long. It is an IMMENSE comfort.

I've noticed that some couples my age, with or without kids, think that I am "on maternity leave" or will return to work at some point. Without wanting to be unkind, prideful, or boasting, I mostly just nod along. The truth is, I'm not on maternity leave from anywhere (though I get one last EI check this week, yay!), and I don't have to plan on going back to work - ever. Unless Trevor dies. In that case, I'll buy a home with the life insurance and get myself back to school!

I'm reminded nearly every day that other people don't have these luxuries. It makes me so proud of think of how hard Trevor has worked to get where he is. He studied every single evening when he was going to Lethbridge College to get high enough grades to get into UBC. He never took a break, and even after he was accepted, he had to endure what is probably the toughest six months any student ever experiences in the country - the Civil Engineering Bridge program at Camosun College in Victoria. The failure rate is around 25%, and no one over the age of 30 has EVER passed. During those six months, Trevor was either in class (which was 40 hours/week), studying at school, studying at home, or at church. It was ROUGH. But he did it!

It makes me tear up when I think of how much work he put in and that he made it. I can't believe how well he is able to take care of Grant and me now that he can work as an Engineer. We are SO blessed. I don't mean any negative feelings to anyone else who chooses work in another field (and thank goodness there aren't more geotechnical civil engineers) but I am so fortunate to have a husband who makes enough for us now, and has so much earning power as life goes on. I know of a few people who have husbands who have just graduated and can't find a job, or have been graduated for a few years but can't find a permanent job, and my heart really goes out to them.

Hopefully there will be more than enough work in the fall and winter for Trevor's company to keep him! Either way, it is such a relief for him to have a useful degree in an industry that continues to be in demand, recession or not.

I feel as though I have the best life ever - I'm living the dream.