The Smarter One

Monday marked a huge milestone in our house.

Hubster took the DAT (Dental Admission Test), the first huge hurdle in going to dental school.

Actually, the biggest step on this journey was the decision to go down this path at all.

Hubster was one of the top students in his high school, receiving a scholarship to a local college. But he couldn't stand the community and area, so he moved away from home to Salt Lake City. Instead of going to college right away, as his mother hoped, he worked odd jobs and then started doing construction, framing houses.

Being the incredibly smart person he is, it didn't take him long to realize that without education, he could possibly spend the rest of his life framing houses.

He enrolled in the local community college and started to work on a major in his favorite subject from high school: Physics.

Along the way, we met, got married, had kids, moved eleventy billion times, etc, etc, etc. Through all this, Hubster stayed in school, eventually transferring from the community college to the state university I was attending.

It took him nearly 9 years, but he eventually graduated with a double major in math and physics. Only to be met with the question of "What now?" Everyone who knew us asked what you could do with a math and physics major, what Hubster was interested in, what now?

And Hubster didn't know. He liked his current job, but there wasn't a lot of room for upward mobility without a PhD.

I always suggested, he being the smarter, more outgoing one of us, that he should go to medical school. His reply to that? "Oh yes. You look so happy."

Touche.

And then some how, over a conversation over a random dinner, the idea of dental school came up. And it was like a light went off. He immediately enrolled back in school to complete some prerequisites.

Did you read that? After NINE years of college, he enrolled in school again!!

When I tell people that Hubster is going to dental school, they grin. "You're right," they say. "He is smarter than you."

And for the last 5 months, he has been studying intensively for the DAT, needing great scores to have a chance at getting in. (Not that we (meaning I) have any doubts.)

How Hubster had looked for the last 5 months

It's been a trying time for us. I've been working 80 hours weeks with 30 hour shifts, while he's spent nearly every day since January over textbooks and review books. And I'm pretty sure this was the easy part of the process.

Hubster took the DAT Monday. (After he tossed and turned all night and then woke up at 3:45 am, too nervous to sleep.)

He came home with a huge grin on his face.

And this is part where I get to brag about my husband. That studying completely paid off, with a composite score in the 99th percentile.

He really is the smarter one.

I'm so proud of him. Not only has he supported me through my aspirations and trials, but he has continued to pursue his own dreams, despite all the crazy looks from his friends and family that he is still in school over 15 years after graduating high school. I'm glad that I now have the chance to support and cheer him on.

And he has promised to finally clean up all the papers on his side of the bed.