The Wife and I made a quick trip to Minnesota this weekend to be with her family for a weekend before Christmas. Her Dad gets into the Christmas decorations to the point he strings a lit Santa and reindeer above his driveway. He has five Christmas trees. Christmas is a big deal in The Wife's family.
We made the short drive to The Wife's Brother's house on Saturday to visit with our niece and nephew and to enjoy a holiday meal together. TWB's wife, Mrs. Krabappel, and I have a long history of annoying our spouses. She is a Simpsons devotee, and I can quote the 'Clown College' episode at extensive length.
You can almost hear TW and TWB rolling their eyes at us.
But Mrs. Krabappel is more subdued than normal right now. She is in school studying to be a physical therapy assistant and has finals all this week. She is practicing for a skills test this afternoon as I type this and she is stressed about whether she will pass.
It is all so familiar. The Wife spent 23 months in graduate school studying to be a physician assistant. We are still recovering and rebuilding our lives and careers.
Mrs. Krabappel is hilarious when she is not in school. She is a devoted mother of two great kids when she isn't physically at school. And she is a great baker of sugary confections . . . When she has time for such things.
It is hard to see someone you care about struggling. Mrs. Krabappel's life will take off when she gets out of school. She knows that. But it does not make the reality of school any easier for her or her family.
For now, it is stressful. Mrs. Krabappel has 17 months of school left. We will have a big party or a big present, or both, waiting for her when she graduates. We can wait 17 months for a good party. It is too soon for her to plan that far ahead. After all, we have to visit her on another Christmas before that happens.
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