All told, it took Jeremy about six years to earn his postgraduate degrees. It was a long and winding road, and at times, the only thing keeping us going was the thought of what life would be like once he had a real job. It was our way of focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel, I suppose.
There were actually lots of little lights at the end of the tunnel, but they fell into basically two categories: when Jeremy has a real job, we will have a lot more money, and a lot more time. So how is that all working out for us?
1. We will have a lot more money. Of course we had no expectations of brilliant wealth - if that was our goal, we were in the wrong field, big time. But we were hoping not to have to watch expenses quite so closely.
On the face of things, we do have a lot more money. Another thing we have a lot more of is expenses - remember that real job I mentioned? Well, it comes with awesome benefits. And those benefits cost money. It's nice to have a 401k, but someone has to actually put money in it, you know? Similarly, it's nice to be able to afford preschool, but "affording" is just another way of saying "forking out the money to pay for."
The other mitigating factor in this category is that we held off buying so many things for so long, especially while Jeremy was in his PhD program. Now all those delinquent accounts, as it were, are coming due. I'm talking about stuff like shoes (neither Jeremy nor I has had a new pair of shoes since about March 2008), a new laptop for me (my old one lasted almost six years, a veritable dinosaur), and clothes, especially winter outerwear (stuff we never needed in Tucson).
So no, it's not a dream world flowing with riches, but we didn't expect that, either. I would say it's just a little tighter than we thought it would be. I remember when we found out what Jeremy's salary would be, and at first it was like, "what will we do with all that money?" Well, guess what: you find things, or things find you.
2. We will have a lot more time. This is definitely true, but that's only because there was really nowhere to go but up. The biggest difference that I've noticed is that I no longer have to take my kids with me everywhere I go, which feels like such a luxury. Let me tell you, it feels SO good to no longer be "the one who always has her kids with her, no matter how inappropriate the situation." Jeremy even comes on family outings now. That's not to say he's absolutely a free man - obviously he is at work quite a bit, but at least there is such a thing as a weekend now. In fact, I bet his schedule seems a bit light at times, but that's part of the natural ebb and flow of things, and also, DUDE, he deserves it.
In summary, life on the other side is good. School for Jeremy is done forever. He has a real job and we're happy. The end.
There were actually lots of little lights at the end of the tunnel, but they fell into basically two categories: when Jeremy has a real job, we will have a lot more money, and a lot more time. So how is that all working out for us?
1. We will have a lot more money. Of course we had no expectations of brilliant wealth - if that was our goal, we were in the wrong field, big time. But we were hoping not to have to watch expenses quite so closely.
On the face of things, we do have a lot more money. Another thing we have a lot more of is expenses - remember that real job I mentioned? Well, it comes with awesome benefits. And those benefits cost money. It's nice to have a 401k, but someone has to actually put money in it, you know? Similarly, it's nice to be able to afford preschool, but "affording" is just another way of saying "forking out the money to pay for."
The other mitigating factor in this category is that we held off buying so many things for so long, especially while Jeremy was in his PhD program. Now all those delinquent accounts, as it were, are coming due. I'm talking about stuff like shoes (neither Jeremy nor I has had a new pair of shoes since about March 2008), a new laptop for me (my old one lasted almost six years, a veritable dinosaur), and clothes, especially winter outerwear (stuff we never needed in Tucson).
So no, it's not a dream world flowing with riches, but we didn't expect that, either. I would say it's just a little tighter than we thought it would be. I remember when we found out what Jeremy's salary would be, and at first it was like, "what will we do with all that money?" Well, guess what: you find things, or things find you.
2. We will have a lot more time. This is definitely true, but that's only because there was really nowhere to go but up. The biggest difference that I've noticed is that I no longer have to take my kids with me everywhere I go, which feels like such a luxury. Let me tell you, it feels SO good to no longer be "the one who always has her kids with her, no matter how inappropriate the situation." Jeremy even comes on family outings now. That's not to say he's absolutely a free man - obviously he is at work quite a bit, but at least there is such a thing as a weekend now. In fact, I bet his schedule seems a bit light at times, but that's part of the natural ebb and flow of things, and also, DUDE, he deserves it.
In summary, life on the other side is good. School for Jeremy is done forever. He has a real job and we're happy. The end.