My Man

Craig Campbell Family Man << Click on this link to hear a song while you read the post!! Caution, this is going to be one of those bragging, proud, loving kinds of posts--just so you know!

This is my man, surrounded by most of the women in his life.

He is happiest surrounded by family, one of the most important things in his life. He takes pride in being a dad, one of the life privileges that he does not take lightly. He works hard to provide for and protect his family. Choices made are not always popular, but they are usually right. His personal discipline spills over to his fatherhood, where he expects great things from all those around him, as much as he expects from himself. He is one of the most self-disciplined people I know and I am in awe of that. This discipline has become a desire to become a Master in Educational Leadership. He has, while working full time, studied in this discipline over the last four years- though he took some time to support me through cancer. During that time, he learned how to manage a household more fully, something that was previously my domain. But his expertise definitely lies in discipleship, where he helps people find their strengths and builds a fantastic team based on the strengths of it. I have watched him blossom during this course of study, finding out that how he thinks is good, that it is supported by research and evidence based practice. He has some amazing skills that I can't wait to see him use, both in the classroom and largely, in the educational community. He is looking for a principalship or administrative position where he can further develop his skills and put them into practice.
This next week will be intense. He is in the final stages of preparation to write his Masters Comprehensive Exam- a 6 hour written exam outlining all he has learned over these last 4 years as well as how he will put it into practice, including his personal philosophy of education. Personally, I hate writing test. I seem to have a blockage when it comes to retrieving information that I know or have stored away in my brain. But my man rocks it!! He gave that gift to his son as well--they both share an excellent retrieval system! He has been spending 4-6 hours per night in study after working all day in these last couple of months. His weekends look more like 12 or more hours per day spent in study. He has taken a couple of personal days from school to put in this kind of time as well and right now he is at the school, where he can lay out all of his notes on desks and organize his thoughts on the outside of his head. He will take a couple of breaks per day to listen to praise music, or to get outside or to eat a good meal. He is so disciplined! And I know he will be such an amazing administrator--I would say he is gifted in it!
So, I warned you at the beginning of this that it might get a little over-the-top with bragging, but I just can't help it! If you are a pray-er, this would be a good time to do so on his behalf. He has lots going on and manages to maintain it fairly well. I wonder how re-entry into family life will feel for him when he is finished? He has been on the outside of so many things for so long. We are all looking forward to getting him back as a full time member! His convocation is at the end of May and my man and I are hoping to celebrate the end of this important journey with some travel. We'll see.