By John Johnston / Enquirer staff writer

Six years ago, Bruce Nelson needed a change. He knew it. His wife, Pam, knew it.

He was waiting tables, the latest in a series of unsatisfying jobs that included bartender and cook.

"You get in a comfort zone, where everything's kind of going OK," Pam, says. "Even though you don't like what you're doing, it's working."

Bruce could blame only himself for his limited options.

He'd frittered away several years at Northern Kentucky University in the mid-1980s, leaving without a degree. After their marriage in 1990, they sometimes talked about his returning to school.

"It just never seemed the time was right," says Bruce, 39.

There hardly seemed a worse time than 1998. The Nelsons had three children at home, the oldest age 6. Pam, 37, divided her time between caring for them and working part time as a nurse.

It would have been easy to maintain the status quo.

Instead, Bruce decided, with Pam's support, that he should return to NKU to finish his education degree and become a math teacher. It was a life-changing decision, even bigger than either of them imagined at the time.

Much was at stake as Pam began working full time and Bruce became a full-time student. For two years.

Some people thought they were nuts.

"It almost seemed impossible when we made that commitment," Bruce says. "I owe it all to (Pam) to be able to do that."

Says Pam: "We knew in our hearts we would make it. But that doesn't take away from the worry, and it doesn't pay the bills."

Money was tight. And with three youngsters at home, they had to rely on extended family, including Bruce's parents and Pam's mother, for child-care help.

"It was a terrific juggling act, with everybody involved depending on what we needed and when," Pam says.

Two weeks before Bruce's graduation in May 2000, the couple's daughter, Molly, was born. Their boys, Brandon, Connor and Logan (now 12, almost 10, and 6, respectively), shared in the excitement of seeing their father in cap and gown on commencement day.

Job offers followed from both sides of the Ohio River, but Bruce held out hope that he would hear from the Catholic school at the top of his list. At the last minute, that call came from Moeller High.

"Truly that was a defining moment in our life," Bruce says. "Getting the job at Moeller changed who we are and what we think is important."

The Nelsons were Catholic, but church hadn't been a big part of their lives until Moeller hired Bruce. The family moved from Eastgate to Sycamore Township. They became actively involved at All Saints Catholic Church and its school, which their boys will attend through eighth grade.

It's just down the street from Moeller, where Bruce is beginning his fifth year of teaching math, primarily geometry. A former high school wrestler, he's also coaching junior varsity wrestling.

Meanwhile, both he and Pam continue their educations. Bruce is working toward a master's degree in mathematics at the University of Cincinnati; Pam, who has an associate's degree, is pursuing a bachelor's in nursing through the College of Mount St. Joseph's onsite program at Bethesda North Hospital.

Which means they're still making sacrifices and juggling schedules. But never second-guessing themselves.

"I get up every morning," Bruce says, "and I love going to work."

E-mail jjohnston@enquirer.com

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