Graduation

Graduation Day | Friday, August 12, 2016

Not to be overshadowed by all the other crazy events of our last week in SC, this one will get its own post. Curtis graduated on Friday morning — the day after moving out of our house and mere hours before hitting the road for good!

Curtis graduated with distinction, in the top 10 of his class. Obviously, that is a big deal and something to be extremely proud of. But let’s be real, it didn’t surprise me in the slightest. 😉 Above that, I admire his character qualities that have come out through the past few months while he was in school. I admire his discipline, working hard and giving it his all. I admire his trust in God, knowing that he could only do so much and ultimately it was through the Holy Spirit that he could succeed in this program. I admire his perseverance when the days got long and the tests more challenging.

Before he started, people warned me that I might not see much of him, and that he would be studying for long hours every day, weekday and weekend. Some even said it was good practice for deployments. However, Curtis made it a priority to not let school be his only focus. He continued to put me first and invest his time and energy into other aspects of his life. Some of those have been made clear on this blog: from his woodworking creations, to our garden, to the fact that we were able to go do something fun every single weekend. I admire how he balances being both a disciplined officer and a dedicated husband.

In the last couple weeks, we’ve been reminded of how temporary these stages in life are. In his program, it’s so easy to get focused on passing the next test, moving on to the next step, or moving to the next city. Curtis has reminded me a lot in the past couple weeks how important it is to cherish each step rather than looking ahead to the next thing. Of course, this applies to anyone in any career field or stage of life. We’re always looking forward to the weekend, to vacation, to the next “stage of life.” Curtis has really demonstrated to me what it looks like to be truly focused on the moment you’re in and to do your best, without worrying about or wishing for something else. People always comment on how laid back he is and how calm he seems about school and tests, and I can attest to the fact that he’s always like that.

He trusts God, he does his best, he takes life day by day, and he puts me first. I couldn’t ask for a better husband. I know that with these qualities and values in life, he will go far in the Navy or whatever else God leads us to. Congrats babe, I love you and couldn’t be more proud to be your wife. XOXO