They are going to call my name too ... or at least they should
My wife has been in school for what seems like forever now. She is in a five year Architecture program (the state requires a five year program to get your license). I guess that means by current standards it should take her nine years to complete. It takes that long, not because she fails classes, but because they never seem to offer the classes she needs to move to the next level in the right order.
So where do I fit in...
As an architecture student her responsibilities are not just in design. She must also build scale models of the buildings she designs. She has to use a variety of building materials including wood, metal, and plaster. These models are detailed. Some include little tiny furniture that has to built by hand. The projects are rarely anything realistic (i.e. You must build a house for two brothers on a wooded site. One brother restores books and the other is a bird watcher. The space can only be 1000 sq. ft. and must be built over the top of the stream the splits the property. It must encompass both lifestyles.) The sites have to be constructed with a contouring surface and generally some of the terrain features must be included.
I am the constructor of these things. Don't get me wrong, she helps a great deal. It isn't my design and I don't necessarily understand plans so I need her to give me lots of direction. Her final project for the quarter was due yesterday. We worked almost the entire weekend on this project. We always seem to be on a deadline and right down to the wire. It always seems to happen that way, not just because she likes to procrastinate but life always seems to get in the way. On Saturday we worked from 9 pm until 11 am Sunday morning. We were able to complete most of the project with just a few detail pieces left to go.
The point of this rant...
I put as much into her education as she does. I work so that she doesn't have to (financially we need her to work but she doesn't understand that). I take my limited free time and help her with projects when I can. While my input is less academic and more of the behind the scenes grunt work, I give as much of myself as she does to her educational pursuits. I want my recognition! It might seem stupid and petty but I do. I guess I will have to live without that but maybe one day my hard work will allow me to pursue the things in my life that excite me instead working for a company I love in a job I hate.