Graduation

It was so cool finally taking a walk across the stage for my college degree. It's only my AA, but it's something I quit believing would happen when I married Michael. The gown was snugger than when I graduated from High School (OK, a lot snugger), and the cap is still as dorky, but this time it was donned with 3 tassels - my school tassel, my honors tassel, and my Phi Theta Kappa tassel - so I could forgive the fashion nightmare it presented. Yes, I graduated with honors from HS as well, but they didn't give me a nifty tassel for that accomplishment .

I managed only to choke up as I was walking to the seats and passed by the row of my family and friends - it was wonderful to see my mom's beaming face, but it made me miss my dad so much I couldn't stand it. As I type this, I am fighting back the tears all over again. I'm just glad I was able to regain my composure... as a general rule, I don't like crying.

The other times I thought I would have choked up I was prepared for, and therefore was able to refrain from doing so. Instead, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I walked across the stage to accept my handshake from the president of the college. And while emotional, no tears were shed as I walked through the row of college professors all lined up giving us a round of applause as we proceeded.

My kid near about choked me to death after the ceremony... I could tell he was extremely proud of me, and I was proud of myself for setting such a good academic example for him. I fought back the tears there as well, but those were tears of joy, not sorrow.

Of course, this is only one step in achieving my end goal, and the career I'm going into is not what I thought I would do with myself (ever!) but it's a step in the right direction, and as long as I keep moving forward it'll keep being progress.