Gavin Griffin, TCU Graduate

Goals are a funny thing.  Often they seem so easy to set, and the path is so clear to get to them, until you start down that path. But sometimes as you stagger out of the road less traveled, you realize it was exactly the path for you afterall....

Gavin's journey to his degree was longer and more varied than most.  In total: 14 years, 3 schools, and some pretty major life accomplishments outside of academia.  He met a girl and helped her become what she was meant to be, including a mother.  He walked a very difficult path to becoming a father and is the most involved and loving dad I've ever meet.  He set off on a career that some people dream off, and others can't fathom and not only survived, but excelled, averting the obvious and more subtle pitfalls.  He's set records, travelled the world, and never lost himself in the glitz.  

I couldn't be prouder of him.

Husband, Father, Pet-dad, Uncle, Triple Crown Winner, Professional Poker Player, Writer, trivia buff, golfer, OC Resident, DnD nerd... college graduate is hardly the most impressive on the list, but now it's there!  The first time Gavin and I discussed him finishing his degree, I think he thought it was a pipe dream.  It sounded great, but it also seemed like it would be a huge pain.  Every time we would look into a new avenue, it would seem daunting.  When it would come up, I would encourage Gavin to keep trying.  So he kept taking a few classes.  Eventually we contacted TCU to find out about completing his degree there. Surprisingly, it seemed doable and they worked with us to make it happen.

It certainly wasn't without challenges.  A summer without daddy wasn't easy for anyone.  We are so lucky to have loving and accommodating grandmas to help fill the gap.  For us, the summer flew by: I was really too busy staying afloat to worry much.  We'd set a course and we were all chugging along to the finish line.

Our adventures in dorm living were pretty exciting and funny.  It's unlikely Colin will ever want to livin in a dorm with his mommy again so I cherished the time. <3

Daddy After his last class!

  

Future Frog?

As a peripheral benefit, we now have a college football team to cheer for!  Expect to see a bit more purple here come football season!! (Hopefully, at least....)

Gavin, I am so proud of you.  You started out with a goal, and you achieved it.  I love you, always.  Congratulations!!

Go Frogs!

Dorm Life

Our primary reason for our Texas Adventure was for daddy to go to school.  When we started comparing living options, the cheapest by far were the on campus apartments; dorms.  I had several ackward exchanges with the renting director before we were able to commit.  Primarily, I wanted to know if Colin and I visiting would be super weird and awkward. (In my head I saw scenes from Animal House playing out around me as I tried to rock him to sleep...) In the end we determined that very few students would be around anyway and we had a solo unit, so we decided to go for it.

Colin's first meal in a dorm room!

It took some planning (and many lists, of course) to make sure our trip would be doable.  We sent some of the necessities with daddy in the car and had him pick up others there or via Amazon.  We love the travel high chair we got.

The apartment was nice.  One room, living room, bathroom, kitchen, and even a 'room' for Colin!

Colin's Room

I doubt sleeping in a closet will have any lasting affects, he slept just fine!

The biggest problem with the dorm, or any place away from home really, was lack of baby entertainment.  While daddy was in class, mommy and baby made do with what we had!

Most expensive baby toy on the block.

Less expensive, just as fun.

At night, Colin helped daddy study.

Baby Dorm life certainly had it's challenges and funny moments, but overall it worked out just fine.  I'm glad it will be quite a while before anyone in our family is living in dorms again!