Pacific University

Five Things I Like About Pacific University

1. They have what is called a spouse card, which makes it so the spouse and family of a current student can have access to the gyms, pool and aquatic center ect... without having to pay extra. Really handy. It doesn't give access to the key card locked buildings which is good in my opinion.

2. Location! Most optometry schools are located in large cities, we are not city living folk :) I love being so close to ample hiking/biking trails, and only about an hour from the coast. It is perfect (now only if there was more time during the school year to enjoy it...)

3. Reputation, Pacific has a great reputation and has been a highly regarded school for many many years. It is nice to run into so many Alumni who are running successful practices all around the country. Makes me feel confident in the education Chris is receiving (also in how much money we are paying for that education).

4. Staff, we have found the educators and administrators to be wonderful so far. When the kids and I walk through or go to events they are always welcomed and treated like the cutest kids on the planet (because they are)!

5. PAVA, is a great organization which works in conjunction with the optometry school and helps to bring spouses together. It is very helpful to know other people going through the program also, it helps to have a bunch of people who understand and are willing to help.

May 31st 2013

Today in the midst of summer break we are beginning our crazy weekend of turning over 2 apartments. They have to be ready for the carpet cleaner on Monday, we have to paint, clean and repair. We will come out of it about $500.00 richer and every penny counts!

We also found out Chris is going to have to miss a day of school in the fall or we will loose our job because there is a required fair Housing tour we have to go on. He is debating what to do! Oh my this should not be such a hard decision but it is. Missing one day of school is huge, but having an income and a place to live is huge too!

Seriously!

The First Semester

At the start of his first semester he kept the same basic schedule as in undergrad, basically going to school, then a little studying, and coming home and being with the kids and I. We were in this brief period of time before we truly understood what was coming, it was nice while it lasted! Then he had his first round of midterms, after that we KNEW that things were going to have to change dramatically.

It changed from being home in the evenings to coming home for a couple hours for dinner and leaving again to go study. We saw him briefly during the week, and at this point he only studied for a few hours on Saturday. He was feeling better, I was still doing okay. With two small children and trying to run a business, I was also feeling SLIGHTLY (understatement of the year) overwhelmed. We were drowning in bills and running out of the student loans we were not suppose to be spending, but I didn't want to worry him, he had so much on his plate. The second round of midterms came and went, he did a bit better, but no where near where he needed to be.

That led to more studying, longer hours, less time at home. He spent Thanksgiving vacation studying, any and all 3 day weekends studying. Saturdays we didn't see him except for at dinner and the monthly Costco trip. He made it through and pulled a 3.0 out of the semester, we were all HAPPY with that. His lowest GPA since starting college by a lot but it was passing, and he qualified for the masters program he wanted to do concurrently with his OD degree. SUCCESS!

Now it may sound all bad but it is not. During that time we both made some good friends, and I was beginning to learn what it takes to be a single parent! HaHa!

However, through one of my new found friends who was a second year Optometry Widow we got a NEW job. No more home daycare, no more 50+ hour weeks working and still not making enough money. Managing apartments never sounded better than after our first semester of optometry school. It also meant moving again, and moving during his first real break from school, but the perfect opportunity!

What it is like

I am starting this blog in hopes of shedding light on what it is like to be the spouse to someone who is in a competitive time consuming and all encompassing program in school. When people told us that it was going to be busy, we believed that it would be busy. When they told us it would be hard, we thought yeah he will have to study a little more than in undergrad. When they told me I would be a widow for the next four years, I thought yeah he may be gone a little more than before.

Oh man we should have listened to what they were saying and added in more hours, more stress, and less time. That would have been accurate preparation... maybe. It is like when someone tells you having a baby changes everything, you say, yes it is going to change things but we will still basically live the same life - HAHA.

We are in the midst of his one and only summer off during the 4 year program, I hope you enjoy reading!