As many of you know, I've been diligently working on my dissertation for quite awhile now (almost two years-- eek!). There are days when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm enthusiastic about all I've been able to find. More often than not, there are days where I'm uninspired... tired of data entry, wondering whether I'll be able to obtain all the people I need to defend this endeavor in front of my committee and my advisor. I have to admit, the topic that I chose to research is not a happy one. And I have my reasons for why I chose it... whether personal or not, I believe it's something people need to talk about.
One of the biggest things that keeps me going is the amount of people who have invested their time in participating... whenever I see those envelopes, I know that I have to honor those people and the effort they put into giving me the information I requested. Most days, data entry is rather humdrum. But today has been the most interesting day for me while I pushed through some last minute data entry so I wouldn't have to do it while Caesar is visiting.
The first envelope I opened was from a man who I had sent the survey to back in the Fall... I could tell because I'd folded the envelope a certain way and now I don't do that anymore! Anyways, I appreciated that he took the time to still send me his responses, even though he described the tough time that he'd been having in a letter he wrote to me which was attached to the survey. What made me even happier was that he also reported that he was in a better relationship now with someone who cared about him... and really, we are all entitled to that. I'm debating about whether or not to contact him to see if he wants to be part of my "interview" portion... I'd really like to hear more of his story, although I know it actually may be too painful for him to share just yet. I'll let you know what I decide.
What really inspired this post though, was a letter I received from an 84 year old woman who took the time to tell me the story of her relationship with her husband. What you need to know is that for quite awhile... I went through a phase of asking various married adults just how they met (or, what was their story!). I find it fascinating to hear of some of the circumstances that brought some people together... and I think that sometimes asking such a question often reminds them of what they love most about this person. Anyways, I don't think I can divulge the full contents of the letter since I don't want to violate any IRB rules... but reading her story almost made me cry. (Not out of sadness mind you, but because it was a really sweet story to read!) I was amazed at the details that she recounted and what for her made her husband her "Knight in Shining Armor"-- and I think he truly deserves the title really. I wish I could find her and hug her and say... "Thank you! You don't know how much I really appreciated you sharing a little part of your life with me!"
I used to joke with Caesar a lot about the story we would tell if someone were to ask us how we met or why we have stayed together despite the fact that we live almost 1500 miles apart and see each other during Christmas and other random holidays... and honestly, I think some days, we are still working on our story. That's not a bad thing because if anything, it just means that we find one another to be some interesting characters who happen to have an interesting plot line going! :)
But, if you really want to know how we met... It started with a bar, around Christmas and I happened to recognize him because my friend Brian Duhan pointed him out. So, I thought I'd go to say hello... and almost three years later.... the rest is history. :)
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