We worked and played, but most of all I miss the grade.

As the Huntington University ends another year, I am reminded how disconnected I am from the college that consumed my life for 4 years. We only live two blocks away from campus, but the distance between us and them is much farther than that. College was a wonderful mix of insane busyness and spontaneous fun. I can remember being too involved with too many things, with too many projects to work on, and too many exams to study for. I never thought that I would be more busy than I was in college. In college, you could never leave work at work. There was always something to be working on, and most of the time I would work or study until 1 in the morning every morning. Yet somehow, I miss working for the grade.

At the beginning of every semester, in each class, I was handed the loathed syllabus. There is was, my life planned out for me for the next three months. The expectations were always perceived to be insurmountable. Even more so, for some projects I was given a rubric. If I completed this task, that task, put this in the header, and used MLA formatting, then I would earn this amount of points which would give me a letter grade. All the hours, all the time, all the effort would finally end in a letter. It may be a B, it may even be an A. But it was final. My performance had a final evaluation. I was able to either be content or discontent with the work I put in.

Now that I am in this so called 'Real World', I have no rubric. I have no syllabus. Although my work is perhaps just as difficult, I have no real way of knowing if I am doing well. Especially in my profession. It is quite a transition going from using the syllabus as a guide to coming up with the syllabus altogether.

I miss the grade.

Every once in a while, my friends bring up the hypothetical question, "If you had the chance to go back and relive college, would you?". My answer is still no. I have a beautiful wife, a hard yet meaningful job, and would probably feel trapped back in college. I am very grateful for my college experience, but I feel much more free now. Although there are times I desire the structure, the control, the syllabus and the grade, I try to remind myself that I have a gracious God who is my ultimate evaluator. I may never again be given a letter grade, but I hope that I can work and toil knowing that one day the work will be over.

-JOSH

New Life, as Husband and Wife

As we join the blogging world, we felt that it was only fitting to have our first post describe and symbolize our 'NEW LIFE', and the ways we have experienced new life today, this past week, and this past year.

Today- With this post we are bursting forth from the non-blogger womb into the strange, scary, new world of blogging. I (Josh) have made several different attempts at starting blogs (xanga, joshuaemiller.blogspot.com) over the years, so I know that my friends are going to laugh and doubt the new found commitment to blogging yet again.

Today- Today we started a garden. Yes, we are gardeners. We garden. Due to the small plot of land on our rental property, and an overall no-idea-what-we-are-doing approach to gardening, we are starting small. We have planted 2 best boy tomato plants, 4 cherry tomato plants, and two rows of beans (which I am told will be eaten by the Huntington rabbit posse). Hey, some young couples get a cat, a dog, or two, or three to fill the void of not having children yet. We plant tomatoes. After all, tomatoes don't need fed and don't pee and poop on your carpet, like dogs do. Or like little children do for that matter.



Past Week- This past weekend, we celebrated NEW LIFE as we met the newest member of the family, Elijah William Thompson. For the first time in our lives, we are an Aunt and an Uncle! It felt like a miracle to be able to hold such a cute little baby, and we know that Cory and Michelle are going to be wonderful parents. Kristi is insisting that Elijah calls Josh 'Unkie Joshie Poo', and Josh is insisting that Elijah calls Kristi 'Aunt Krusty Poopy Pants'.



Past Year- Our NEW LIFE together truly began on July 19th, 2008. It was the best day of both of our lives. We still can't believe that we get to be with each other for the rest of our lives, and we look forward to the journey that is ahead. Pictures probably tell the story of the day better than we can:













We look forward to sharing our journey through life with you.