For over a week now Brandon has been on Duke campus for his final residency of his MBA. These two weeks have been staring me in the face on the calendar for the last 2 years. I knew this time would be a little bitter sweet. Brandon would be gone for 2 weeks straight, day and night. His residency falls on a time that is right when we have a ton to do around the house in preparing the yard for fall and putting up new autumn decorations. Caroline is in her last weeks of preparing for her violin recital and smack dab in the middle of soccer season. It was also surrounding our baby, Bella's, birthday. On the bright side when these 2 weeks are over Brandon never has to step foot on campus again until he is walking across the stage. He will still have classes until December, but it can all be done from home from here on out. Although his course load this term will be the heaviest he has had to endure, we are hoping with the time saved from when he used to be in class it won't make for such a tough schedule.
But until then, Brandon is there and I am here. When we first looked at his schedule it looked so simple. Some days classes didn't start until 11 o'clock. Almost every day he was done before dinner time. Maybe the 2 weeks of vacation time he had to waste to be there wouldn't be a complete loss and allow him some free time. What they don't put on the schedule is everything the students are doing outside of class. It's not unusual for Brandon's team to be up until 1 AM trying to finish a case study before class the next morning. They work through lunch, and even on the one day he had no classes and was allowed to come home for Bella's birthday party he had to rush back that evening to get things ready for the next day. To be fair Brandon did pick some of the most difficult electives of the term. Some he could have chosen wouldn't have been nearly as difficult and could have allowed him a little golf time with some of his classmates. What Brandon keeps reminding himself in the wee hours of the morning is he's not there for all the fun campus can allow. He's there to learn all he can before this is over. Every night when Brandon gets to Skype with the girls he is reminded of why he is working so hard.
I feel like I am holding up my end of the bargain as well. I'm not exactly sitting at home popping Bon Bons and marking off the calendar each night. I don't know how couples where one spouse is gone for long periods of time do it. Every night I lay exhausted in bed but unable to sleep because I have a million things running through my head about how I am going to handle everything we have to do the next day by myself. You haven't lived until you try to handle 3 little ones during a violin lesson or prepped for a party alone in between diaper changes and temper tantrums. Although, knowing it will be the last time makes it so much easier to get through.
This time alone has really showed me the things Brandon does to help. Even though his time is limited every little bit helps and adds up. Having him back full time will feel like a permanent vacation. Well, at least for a little while.....
