My wife graduated today.
Well, okay, so I'm writing and scheduling this post in advance, but I'm assuming everything's going to go the way it's supposed to and by the time it posts she'll be all graduated.
I've known this woman a little over four years; she went back to school a little under four years ago.
To say it's been long and hard would be a half-truth. It's certainly been hard, but it feels like she tore right through it. Despite chronic and often unexplained illnesses (up to and including two trips to the ER in the past few weeks), she didn't just pass her classes and certifications, she excelled -- I don't think her GPA dropped below a 4.0 until last semester. She's graduating (or has graduated -- again, writing this in advance) with two sets of honor cords, despite all the barriers she's had and all the days she's barely been able to stand up straight.
She's something special, and the workforce she's going into will be much better for having her. And I'm immensely grateful to the people who've helped and supported and accomodated her -- professors, teachers, doctors, nurses, family, friends. (And yeah, there were a couple of people who didn't help and who made things harder for her. These three parenthetical sentences are all the acknowledgement I will give those people. Fuck the roadblocks; they are far outnumbered by kind, flexible, compassionate people.)
I'm proud to know her, and grateful to everyone who helped her get this far. Now on to the next thing.