Sara+Jackson // Engagement in Durham. - Carolyn Scott Photography

YOU GUYS, JACKSON IS A PALEONTOLOGIST!!!

Phew, okay, got that off my chest.

We were so. freaking. excited. to meet our first paleontologist client and I had a mental list of all sorts of dinosaur-related questions I was going to ask him. Then they lured us into the session only to tell us that he’s not a dinosaur kind of paleontologist. We almost walked away right there, but they quickly (and smartly) followed up with the fact that Jackson gets to go to other countries to do that thing where you chip at bones and dust them off like the opening scene of Jurassic Park. And though they’re not dinosaur bones he’s digging for, he’s still digging and dusting and chipping! Lookin’ for stuff! Old things! Mostly other species of things that came after dinosaurs but that’s not important. What’s important is that he’s out there doing the job that every person has secretly wanted since the age of 5. He found a skull of something once that they hadn’t found a skull for yet! And I have full confidence that someday he’ll be looking for something un-dinosaur related and stumble across a dinosaur anyway and then I can say I know that guy.

Sara is not a paleontologist, but she is engaged to one. She is currently in charge of making soon-to-be alumni happy at Duke! I’ll tell you what would make them happy, Sara, and that’s taking them on a trip with Jackson to go chip and dust.