Today was Jeff's last day of moonlighting and his job at Vanderbilt. His training is over!

His moonlighting has been the biggest blessing ever. He works 12 hour shifts at a private hospital, 7pm to 7am. He is often running straight from Vandy to get there on time and then will be up all night to then go back to Vandy in the morning. For the first two years he could only moonlight on the weekends because he would never get off of work in time to make it by 7 pm. He would go to work on Friday morning and then we would see him late Monday night. He did this three times a month for two years. He then was finally able to start doing it on the weekdays. He was also able to moonlight on Christmas day each year to make double time. (This past year was the first Christmas Annie Kate has ever remembered having Jeff home, it was a great one for sure)

because I print my blog and use it as my journal this is my reasoning for documenting such a crazy schedule not in any way to think my husband is the only one who works hard.

Jeff has always been very insistent on not complaining too much about his schedule because he would never want anyone else to feel that he thinks he has it the harder by any means. I remember once one of my brothers was talking to Jeff and saying how they had worked 65 hours that week (at a time when Jeff was working over 100) and said" but I have no room to complain with as much as you work". I remember Jeff saying "are you kidding me 65 hours is tough! Don't ever think that your life isn't hard because you may see someone else's life who may appear harder"

I have always been so amazed at Jeff and his silent way of service or doing his job. He is very much on the down low on what he does. He never wants his identity to be because of what is career is but because of who he is, not what he does to pay the light bill. When someone asks him why he lived in New Orleans he often answers "that is where I went to graduate school", to avoid bringing up what he does for work.
To him being a doctor is what he does to bring money home for his family. Biking, Running, fishing, skiing, serving in his church, teaching his kids to play t-ball, loving his wife, being a dad, jumping on the trampoline, loving his parents, respecting his siblings that is what he lives for or one could say what "he does for a living" I am just proud of him for being so patient and waiting 10 years to be able to start doing it.

In 10 years I have heard him complain once! yes just one time on a incredibly hard day. And as the years went on I believe he had harder days than that one but he valued the importance deciding to do something and sticking to it and in his mind complaining about it didn't do any good. He has often said his path is so much easier than my two brothers for instance who are getting their masters degrees. Because along the way they have the temptation to get distracted with high paying jobs that often distract them from completing their goal. He had no choice, if he quit, the only job he could get would be to teach P.E. (his major in college) he wasn't trained to do anything else. He was recently telling Adam that he had it easy "I signed up and I knew my path would take 10 years, but for you it is hard because you can come and go as you like in your education" and because of that he has always respected people so much for having the ability to go to school, work and go back to school.

Thanks Jeff for working your heart out for 10 years and welcome home we have missed you!

As my friend Jennifer F. just emailed me
"batter up"