Kudos to Patrick

So, this post is going to be about Patrick.  He doesn’t get much press around here.  Usually it’s all about the kids or me.  Which is really a shame because he’s a pretty terrific guy and he’s very much a part of our lives, what with being my husband, the father to the aforementioned kids etc etc.  So, this ones for him.

Patrick has had a pretty terrific summer.  He’ graduated with his Masters from Emporia State University’s School of Library and Information Management (SLIM as they called it) and had a full on production of his play “Continuum” produced.  Both of these things are wonderful accomplishments, but when you think the past year we’ve had I think they become even bigger.

In case you missed it, in the past 12 months my father passed away, I spent 3 weeks in the hospital and another 3 weeks at home recovering, my mother passed away and over the course of time I spent a total of over 4 weeks in Iowa.  (Which is going to be a story to tell in and of itself!)

Now in the midst of all this chaos Patrick kept the children fed and happy, the bills got paid and he kept his job, there were papers to write, presentations to give and re-writes to be done on the play, dishes to be done and laundry to be folded.   Oh, and he tended my incisions and comforted me when I thought I’d never recover. He ferried kids to birthday parties and kept up Friday night movie and pizza tradition. He was like the Energizer Bunny, never stopping. And if that wasn’t enough he did all this while managing to keep his 4.0 grade average.  It never once slipped.  I MEAN COME ON!  WHO CAN DO THAT?!?  Patrick Wohlmut that’s who.  When lesser men would have thrown in the towel (and to be fair, there was a point when I thought he would) he kept his wits about him kept his eye on the prize and just kept doing what needed to be done.

We are just so lucky to have a man who is as passionate about his family as he is about his school work and his creative endeavors.  He is a modest man when it comes to his parenting skills. He will often say that I am the better parent.  I say the jury is still out on that one.  (I mean let’s face it there’s puberty, teen-age angst, curfews, body piercings, boy/girlfriends and my own menopause to get through.  So, you know there’s a long haul to go before giving either one of us a “Better” rap then the other.)

Patrick would also be the first one to say that he didn’t do it all alone.  We had a “village” of family and friends who rallied around us and kept us sane and afloat. But, I am still so very impressed and proud of how he kept his head about him and stayed the course.  I know he was stressed, I know there were times when he thought it was too much and he would never see the end, but for the most part he kept that from us. (He also found that running was a great stress release) 

Summer is over and Patrick has landed a part time job at Washington State University (Vancouver campus) as a reference librarian.  He starts his training today.  Go Patrick!