Jewels of the sea for me

Josh is on the verge of finishing his masters degree in education administration.

He is almost halfway through his final class.  His last day will be April 22.  I can hardly wait to celebrate this major accomplishment as a family.  I am just so proud of this man that I married.  Not only is he an amazing husband and father (not perfect, mind you, he does leave shoes and empty socks lying around the house and that does make me crazy sometimes) but he is also a dedicated teacher and one of the hardest workers I have ever met in my life.  He is constantly concerned with taking care of our family and helping us be the best we can possibly be.  

Well, while I was working on plans for a little family shindig for when April 22 finally rolls around (if I want to take us out for dinner that means cashing in credit card points for a gift card since money is scarce and gift cards can take weeks to actually get here) Josh was working on plans of his own.

Tuesday afternoon he came home with a bundle hidden under his coat and a sneaky smile on his face.  I didn't pursue it because I was in the middle of giving a piano lesson to an adorable young lady.  But Josh was giddy.  It was pretty cute/hilarious to watch.

Once I was done with my two little Tuesday students Josh greedily dragged me into the bedroom, made me close my eyes and handed me a box.  It was obviously a jewelry box so I was leery (I am not usually a fan of jewelry).  But once I got the ribbon off and set the lid off to the side I was surprised to see a beautiful strand of pearls.  Nothing fancy (which makes them so so perfect to me...and feasible for a teacher's salary), just a very simple (and lovely) necklace...with a matching pair of earrings.  

Like I told you, I don't normally care much for jewelry.  That said, I have always quietly wanted a set of pearls.  They are simple and clean and very versatile so for me they are the ideal accessory.  

But even better than the necklace was the smile on my husband's face.  He was high on my thrill and it was wonderful to watch.  He gave me a hug and told me that as we come to the end of round two of his schooling adventures he wanted to say thank you for all of the support and proof reading and taking the kids on outings so the house can be quiet for homework etc etc.  He said he felt this newest degree was just as much my accomplishment as it was his and he wanted to thank me for the sacrifices we've made together to get him through this.

I cried.  

Of course I did.  That's what I do.

He really is one superb specimen of a man and I feel awfully lucky he is MY superb specimen of a man.  Also, I'm proud of him.  I can't imagine anyone better to be married to...but I still wish he'd put away his own socks.

(Love you JKD.)