You may have heard me mention being in school. I took my first class toward my master’s degree in Spring 2013. I was motivated to go to school by an AmeriCorp award that I received during my Mennonite Voluntary Service in Colorado in 2007. I didn’t want thousands of dollars to just be wasted, and it needed to be used within 7 years. It also coincided with our return back to this area. I didn’t need to attend Ashland University; in fact, there were a lot of cheaper colleges I could have probably looked into. But I knew the college; I had some college credit there already; and it just seemed an easy choice. So, I started. One class a semester while I wasn’t teaching and a few semesters skipped and a few doubled up. It took a lot of time on the computer (majority was online), some travel time, and a lot of time in the evenings or during the day when the girls were in school or in bed. Jeremy, Gloria, and my parents had their fair share of helping to watch the kids at key times so I could attend a class, get a paper done, or just read in silence.
And now, I am done. I just completed my final class Spring 2019. I have official received my Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction: Mild to Moderate Disabilities. A long title for sure. I also have another tassel, black robe with extra sleeve wings, and a hood.
And my kids saw me graduate. Which was pretty cool. (Shout out to my brother, Nate, who recently graduated with his master’s from Walsh University. He said he wished he would’ve walked so his kids would have seen him. I learned from him.)
Jeremy’s mom came – even without her voice working – to cheer me on.
My parent’s came. And dad was able to make it through me walking on stage before resting in the van (and then joining us later).
And Jeremy was there. I told him I appreciated him, especially for today. I was kinda blowing through this whole thing as something I should “just do.” He made it actually feel important. He bought me flowers yesterday, dressed up, ironed my graduation robe, and made sure I was taken care of. So, thanks, again, Jeremy.
I had to get there by 9am – an hour before the procession started! I loaded a bag of books, notebooks, and snacks for the girls. We piled in blankets for the bleacher seats and threw in some gloves for little hands. The sprinkles started about 9:45am. We marched in at 9:55am.
The mist started about 10am. The invocation happened, the special music was sung, and the heavy mist continued for at least an hour. Rick Warren was our keynote speaker, which was pretty cool.
He spoke about Exodus 4:2-4: Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
He talked about this being one of the most important sections in the Bible. God was, in essence, asking Moses to give up his 1) identity, 2) influence, and 3) income when he asked him to throw the staff on the ground. Then, He turned it into a living snake. Rick Warren went on to say that when we (as graduates) give up our identity, influence, and income to God, He will turn it into something we didn’t dream possible.
Finally, it was time to receive diplomas. Names were called, hands shook, and pictures taken. And the rain stopped.
We returned to our seats for presentation of variety of awards before being dismissed. We headed to Convo to eat a generous and delicious buffet lunch. It was a great place to be – it was close, food was provided, we could hang out. And then it was over.
