Walking

Today was the graduation ceremony for my master's degree. I'm not done until August, but I walked. I'm so glad I did!

It was a fantastic ceremony. We walked through campus led by a bagpiper, through a tunnel of professors congratulating us, and on a winding brick path across the green lawns. We didn't realize until we got inside the stadium that we were on camera and that our families had watched us come across!

Today was big enough for all the pomp and circumstance, but so much more intimate than my bachelor's ceremony (Arts & Science from MU was hundreds of candidates). This graduation was special in a way I wasn't expecting. High School graduation seemed like a given. Undergrad was an accomplishment I felt I shared with my parents and it was a big deal and a rite of passage. Celebrating today (as much more of an adult than I was in 2001) was more intrinsic and meaningful, as well as more of a team effort with Noah. He has been patient, sacrificial, and the budget master to get me through without debt!

When we found out Georgia was coming in February (the middle of a semester), my advisor was so supportive and encouraged me to finish as planned. She even offered to help me finish my class by independent study this spring, but I enjoyed being a part of the class so much that our whole family traveled to class one night a week March through April. I had planned for Noah to sit outside the class with her until she needed to eat but neither the teachers nor my classmates would have it and Georgia became a part of our class and our little mascot. I'm halfway through a Ed Research class now (I'll have to tell you about the Polar Bears later!) and have my capstone project this summer. It will be strange to be done but so, so, so good! I am especially thankful for the friends I've made and the lifelong support I know I'll have in my professsors and fellow teachers in the program.

My official degree will be Masters of Teaching: Liberal Studies with a K-12 Reading Endorsement. Hopefully that means I'll be able to work with younger students in the years to come. I do love my high schoolers (most days) but I did love my days subbing in elementary schools, too.

While we were at graduation today we found a scale in the locker room and Grammy insisted in was time for a GG weigh in...about 14 lbs!