My Super Wife
My wife, Jaclyn, is a superhero. The kind of superhero who wakes up before the birds to a toddler who doesn’t realize that 5:00am is not a real time … the kind of superhero who gets herself and our son ready by 7:15 so she can get him to daycare all while he fights to stay naked … the kind of superhero who then goes to medical school all day … the kind of superhero who then studies after classes … the kind of superhero who picks up our son from daycare and feeds him, plays with him, FaceTimes with grandma and grandpa, bathes him, and then studies the rest of the night … all while daddy is on the road.
Jaclyn is a special person, one who I wanted to dedicate this post to because for the past two years she has simply been superhuman. Those who meet her and learn what she is doing are often blown away, primarily because medical school alone or raising a two year old alone would be enough to fill up your day, but to do both at the same time is quite extraordinary.
Those who know Jaclyn though understand that she has been special for a long time. You see, back in middle school, she lost both her parents, her dad to a plane crash and her mom to pneumonia. As if middle school isn’t hard enough already! She found that her grades were something she could control, so she concentrated on them and maintained stellar grades throughout her school years.
While the torment of losing your parents at such a young age never goes away, she found good friends while growing up in Pittsburgh and used school as her outlet to achieve. This earned her a spot at Wake Forest University, graduating Magma Cum Laude, and a position at Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) as an investment banker when she graduated.
After a number of years she found that investment banking wasn’t fulfilling what she wanted in a career, so she thought about what would be the best way to help people. Since I was already a teacher, that was out of the question since we are far too competitive! That would have been a disaster! So she decided to enroll in pre-med courses to obtain the requisites for medical school. Can you imagine switching from a career in business to a career in medicine without flinching an eye? I can barely switch from reality tv to sitcoms without getting a headache. She has done it flawlessly and continues to find success and happiness in medicine.
I explain Jaclyn’s story not to get her sympathy or praise, but rather to express my thanks and humbleness in her accomplishments and amazing story. I am eternally grateful for the love she shows both our son and me, and the understanding she has when I have to go on the road.
I feel extremely lucky that I found myself a super wife!
