My wife knows how my mind is wired. There can be no other explanation for the clear and rational thinking that she provided. And all it took was a few precious minutes in the park for her to show me what I was missing.
After attending a funeral service, Evelyn felt the need for us to go out with the children for the afternoon. A nice sunny day, but dreadfully hot – perfect day to go to the beach. We grabbed a couple of 2.99 kites and went to Crescent Beach. On the way, we stopped by T&T to grab some some shrimp chips (nong shim) and some yogurt drinks. Due to the unrelenting sunshine bearing down on our parched bodies, we made a detour to crescent park to hide in the shade of trees.
We didn’t leave the parking lot though. We just opend the back trunk, rolled down the windows and opened the side doors, bringing a gentle, comfortable breeze that brought a refreshing sense of calm. The kids fell asleep along the way and we felt that it was an opportune time to talk about our life and about where we were headed.
After talking about the usual stuff, the house, the kids, I told E that time is getting short and that I’d like to take my masters. But I don’t know when to start and what’s the best option for us.
Right away, she went to the finances. “Can we afford it? Let’s see. Well, how much can your company give us for it? How about your yearly bonuses? We can use those? How long is the program? Are there any other places where we can get funding?”
And then she said, “I’d rather that you do it sooner rather than later. January 2010 sounds good. I’ll support you. When you’re done, our children will go to school – the timing is right.” She held her scrap piece of paper up and said, “And the best thing is that we can afford it. Look!”
And things began to fall into place after that. I could see the path. I could see where I needed to go. I chose a program to apply to. My manager and her boss agreed to write my reference letters. And just recently, the part-time student loans program increased their maximum amount just enough to allow me to attend without too much financial strain on our resources. Best of all, I can still work while taking my degree.
I got support from my wife, I got support from work. Now all that remains is to complete the exam, take the GMAT one last time and to get accepted.
No small feat in just a couple of months, but it’ll work out.
And it all started from a scrap piece of paper of figures my wife and I put together. I am so blessed to have such a pragmatic person to calm me down and to help me get the ball rolling.