Going to toot my horn.

[Bassman]

Was going to wait on this till maybe next week but decided what the hell.

Finally after what seemed to be a very long 5 year plan, changing his major three times, dropping classes, retaking classes, my oldest is finally going to gradute college!!!!! Been waiting for this for sometime now, and happy I don't have to pay his tution anymore. Still have two more to pay for but...... One down feels pretty good. By the way... with the degree he has earned, I guess that gives him permission to drive a Train.

I know May is that time of month, does anyone else have to do the graduation thing?

[AlanC]

I wish I did. Baby Dottir didn't make it out in four. Didn't make it out in five. And just talked to us about finishing the last two courses of her Polymer Science degree but staying in and also getting a bachelors in Hospitality. (This is where our heads shake back and forth to the sound of bongos like a Hanna Barbara cartoon) Hospitality! WTF is that? Two more years of school to work at the Red Roof Inn? But she blames me for "pushing" her into Polymer Science where she hit the wall and is struggling to get past a couple of courses. She now hates it and is looking for something else to do. As I am to blame for the past 5 wasted years, I am precluded from telling her what I think about her latest plan. It's hard to keep my mouth shut but so far (a month) I have managed.
Anyway, HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS TO BASSMAN AND SON!!! Really, truly. I still dream of that day for me.

[dradtke]

That's good news!

One of mine took the long way around but is doing great and couldn't be happier.

[mccoyblues]

That's great news. The 5 year plan is typical, especially with Engineering degrees. Does he have a job offer yet? That will be next milestone.

[RickW]

MIddledottir is coming up for high school graduation, and seems to have a future direction planned, which is great. Eldest is of course out of university and working for almost 2 years now.

I know what you mean. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

And congratulations. Now there is the whole career launch thing. That can be a trial, as the realities of the job they are trying to move to kick in.

[billhammond]

A week from today I fly to NC for a week with my girls -- Elderdottir is finishing grad school and has a wonderful resume and a good line on a counseling job that would be right up her alley and it's right in Greensboro, so fingers crossed on that one. Yungerdottir will graduate six days later from her nurse training, and there are jobs aplenty in that field, so both should be productive members of society soon! I am very proud, as are the other parents here, obviously.

[Cornflake]

Congrats, Bassman! It's a good feeling.

[Tamarack]

Congrats to the grad and his Dad! (and Mom!). I understand their are usually jobs available for train drivers.

My oldest is on the 10-year plan, pausing along the way to marry a beautiful and gainfully employed young woman.

[Fingerplucked]

Congratulations, you guys.  Except Alan.  Alan, you get congratulations and condolences.

Haley will graduate HS in about 5 weeks.  She got a partial scholarship to Loyola and will be starting there this fall, aiming at physical therapy. Other than being kind of expensive, it should work out pretty well. She'll be far enough away to be on her own, and close enough that she/we can visit on weekends.

[lar]

Congratulations to all of you who are seeing your kids complete their education or whose kids are about to take the next step. It's an exciting time for all concerned.

With one exception I'm past all of that, thankfully. And that one exception is kind of unusual. Some of you have noted that your kids have taken a bit longer to choose their direction in life. That happens. I sometimes think that we spend so much time pushing our kids to decide what they want to be when they grow up, and these days that's happening even before high school, that we forget what a confusing time that can be in their lives.

My oldest went away to school to fulfill her ambition to become an english professor. That lasted for two years. That was followed by dropping out of school, a brief unsuccessful marriage, and a lot of debts when the husband skipped town never to be heard from again.

At that point Mary had only one thing to fall back on. After her freshman year of college she became a Certified Nursing Assistant (nurse's aid) which is probably one of the worst jobs in the world. The good news is that people who will do that work are in such short supply that they can find a job almost anywhere and almost immediately. Mary moved back home and took a job at the nursing home a block down the street.

Then something happened that I still can't explain. Despite the fact that Mary is a talented, brilliant, and great person she never cared much for anyone except herself. As a CNA in that nursing home Mary's life began to change. Who knows why but Mary fell in love with those old people. She would even go and visit her favorite residents on her days off.

After a few months Mary told me that she had enrolled in the 2 year nursing program at a local technical college. She worked full-time and went to school full time. After two years she graduated, passed her nursing boards, and became an RN in the cardiac unit of our local hospital. She loved nursing! And she was good at it.

Several years later Mary called me one day to tell me that she had decided to go back and finish college and then she wanted to go to medical school.

Mary enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and soon found that they would tranfer only a few of her credits from her previous 2-year stint at a different college. At age 28 she found herself in a freshman english comp class. But she kept at it.

During her stint at Madison Mary managed to land a position on the research team of the University's cardiac research lab. No pay and lots of hard work but the payoff was that the doctor who ran the lab was a prestigious faculty member and on the University's medical school selection committee.

Near the end of Mary's senior year she called to tell me that she had narrowed down her list of possible medical schools to the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago. She really wanted to attend U of C but the cost was $100,000 higher than Wisconsin. A week later she called to say that U of C had offered her a $90,000 scholarship and she was headed for Chicago.

At the ripe old age of 36 Mary graduated with honors from U of C and received her MD. She then headed for the residency program in emergency medicine at the University of Cincinatti, a 4 year program.

Mary turned 40 last month and in July she'll be hanging out her shingle as a full-fledged emergency room physician in a small university hospital in eastern Ohio.

I have rarely seen anyone who is as happy in her work as Mary. All she really cares about is seeing and treating patients. Nothing else matters much to her.

As a parent the lesson I've learned is that sometimes our kids don't get it right away. Sometimes it takes awhile to latch on to whatever it is that really excites and motivates them. About all we can do is to sit patiently by waiting for the spark that finally ignites them. It takes some longer than others.

I could not be more proud of Mary and what she has accomplished. It's meant starting over from scratch a couple of times and lots of hard work and long hours. As the physicians among you know, long days and short nights are the norm for medical residents. As she is about to begin her first job in her new career Mary would be the first to tell you that it's all been worth it.

Best of luck to all of you and your wonderful children who are poised to take the next step in their own life journeys.

[billhammond]

WOW! What a story, Lar! Congrats to Mary and those who guided her!

[coachdoc]

As some one who truly enjoyed the seven years of my sophomore collitch time, I congratulate Mary and her Dad. It is truly worth it.

[RickW]

Really, Lar, that's fantastic.

I have never loved my job. Never much cared for it at all, it's a means to an end. When I hear about people who do find something they really love to do, it gives me hope for my girls. There are many reasons to work, and money is a good one, but not groaning about having to go in every day, then waiting for the time to go, is a waste of a lot of hours in life.

[RickW]

May 2, 2014 9:09:23 GMT -5 billhammond said:

A week from today I fly to NC for a week with my girls -- Elderdottir is finishing grad school and has a wonderful resume and a good line on a counseling job that would be right up her alley and it's right in Greensboro, so fingers crossed on that one. Yungerdottir will graduate six days later from her nurse training, and there are jobs aplenty in that field, so both should be productive members of society soon! I am very proud, as are the other parents here, obviously.

Nice, Bill. The double shot. All you can hope now is that it's as good as they thought it would be.

[Village Idiot]

Congratulations, Bassman, that's great!

Lar, that's a great story, and you should indeed be proud.

Our youngest, Peyton, is graduating this spring with a psych degree. She finished in three years instead of four, with several honors falling her way. We couldn't be prouder.

The biggest problem now is me. I think she needs to get her masters. Actually, I know she needs her masters if a psych degree is going to get her anywhere, but she's balking. One side of her family (mine) if full of phds while the other side (mom's) has no college history, and both sides have done very well for themselves. So right now she's thrilled at where she is, as she should be.

The thing for me to do now is to back off, shut up, and let her find her way. And if she decides to go the master's route, I'll never say "I told you so" and just keep encouraging. If she doesn't, I have no doubt she'll carve out some way to make it through this world.

[Cosmic Wonder]

Congrats to Bassmans, Lar, Bill and VI. Raising kids is both stressful and satisfiying, if your lucky.

We are lucky. Katie is finishing up her first year at Oregon State honors college as a Sophmore due to AP test scores in high school. She has managed to keep her perfect 4.0 grade average. She has a job working in the bio lab researching bacteria that has some positive affect on agriculture found in the dirt in the Willamette Valley. And since first year bio kids do not normally get paid gigs in research at the school, we think she is doing great. This summer she will return to work as a science camp counselor for OMSI, (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) passing her love of all thing science to kids who have challenges. Last year, after working with these kids she came home with a realization of just how lucky she and her friends were. We are very proud of her.

Mike

[lar]

Todd, I guess the trick is to be encouraging without going to extremes. It's a difficult challenge and requires quite a lot of balancing and biting one's tongue.

I'm sure that in end Payton will find the path that suits her most. My daughter Julie has a psyc degree. She loves kids and wanted to be a work with them as a psychiatrist. In her senior year she did volunteer work in a program for troubled kids. She discovered that she could not maintain the balance between genuine concern and the professional distance that is required. The kids and their problems tore her heart out.

She's now a senior help desk tech for a software company. She's doing well and likes her job.

It's funny how things turn out sometimes.

Best of luck to Peyton.