Brett's Update: I wasn't sure today would ever come.

I am feeling a bit emotional today.
Tonight is my last class in my quest for a Bachelor's degree. It took four years in the Corps, and nine years of going to school at night to get here. The last couple of years has been the hardest. The seemingly never ending long days; balancing career, school, house, babies, and everything else really wears on you. The constant looming stress of papers, reading assignments, and exams is bad enough, but when you are trying to simultaneously provide for a family and grow a career, it's exhausting. Every weekend, homework. every night (after work), class or reading for the next one. If you take a break, you get behind and the stress mounts. Pouting or even crying kids when you leave, pleading with you to stay and play. Just be here, Dad. Do that for NINE years straight, and I don't know the words to describe how exhausting and daunting that is.

My support has been wonderful. I will never thank Kristi enough for everything she has done to help me. She has shared much of this burden along with me, and sometimes it was probably harder on her. She's the Sam to my Frodo.

I will take the time to personally thank everyone who has helped me along the way. It will take a while because there were a lot. If you are reading this, you are probably one of them whether you know it or not.

After so long, it's kind of hard to believe that it's finally over. I feel like Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, who struggled his whole life to avenge his father, once he had done it, he didn't know what to do.

Well, kind of. I do have plenty to do. I am never at a loss for projects or new hobbies. It's just that this quest (yes it was truly a quest for me) has been such an overarching driver in my life for most of my life, and now it's done.

It's done. Wow.