Graduated... Mostly

A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Logan for Utah State's commencement.  We got up there just fine, and had a nice visit with my aunt and uncle, who live in nearby Providence and are always nice enough to let us crash the spare bedroom.  When we went to bed there was not a flake of snow on the ground and I was THRILLED.  Wouldn't it be lovely to have a dry (but still frigid) walk across campus?  When I got up at 7:30 there was just a dusting on the ground-- and I was all, okay, I can still wear my cute shoes in that. 

(Sidenote: I judge all Logan weather based on the amount of protection I need from my shoes-- cute flats when its dry, shoes that hit the ankle if it hasn't snowed in a while, and my favorite black boots if I have to wade through anything more than two inches.  There is a very similar system involving which jacket or coat, how many layers to stuff underneath, and the warmth versus the cuteness of the scarves and hats.  If I learned nothing else during my four winters in Logan, I did learn exactly how to dress for the weather). 

Anyway, so I send Isaac out to start the car as I finish getting ready and lo and behold, six inches of white stuff on the ground.  Seriously.  What a fitting way to send me off into the world, Cache Valley.  So I gave up on my cute shoes and threw on the boots-- but no coat, since I could not figure out a way to juggle both a coat and graduation robes.  I'm all, whatever, its not that far of a walk anyway...

Forty five minutes, a spinout, several side streets later and we finally make it onto campus (this is normally a ten minute drive).  I run in and luckily, my friend Erica has already picked up my card.  I say luckily because they had NO RECORD of me in the graduation lists-- I'm not on the list, not in the program, nowhere to be found.  (I'm beyond aggravated by this, since both my counselor and the Registrar's office lost my graduation for application once each, and I spent hours working it all out.  All for nothing).  If I had had to wait in line and have that argument when I got there it could have been close, but this way I just jump in line and start finding my friends.  Interestingly, they required no documentation to stick me in the lineup-- Isaac joked that he should have borrowed a cap and gown and walked with me.  Might as well get the ceremony out of the way, since all the family was there anyway, even if he's still like three years away from being done.

Turns out I was right next to my awesome friend Jeanette, who is Early Childhood like me, and did an excellent job as  my personal sanity-saver last semester as we student taught together:

The College of Education was very last in the processional, so of course we W's were nearly the very last in line.  (Do you see the amount of snow here?  Seriously, people had to brush a half inch of snow off their caps when we finally got back inside).

 

I was so happy I brought an umbrella.... I was cold, but at least I was mostly dry.

 

For those who even know anything about campus, we left from the Fieldhouse and crossed 700 North to the Spectrum.  Here I am smiling because I think we are about to get inside:

But no, we had to circle completely around the Spectrum to get in through the tunnel.  Shortly after this shot I got really irritated with all the girls who wore their cute high-heeled shoes, because I got stuck behind them slowly side-stepping their way down the hill.  (How on earth do you attend this school long enough to earn a diploma and still think its a good idea to wear stilettos in a snow storm?  On a campus built on a hill?)

The speakers did their thing (the poor valedictorian had a nasty cold and could barely speak) and they read the names-- everyone's names, in fact-- but we were still done in less than an hour and a half!  Hooray for winter commencement!

These are the three girls that kept me going through Level III:

From left, Erica, Erin, me, and Whitney.  I would not have survived the hardest semester of the program without having these girls to share snarky comments with!  Nothing endures four hour classes better than sarcasm with a healthy dose of venting.  (Erica is also the lucky girl who gets to teach in the room next door to my new classroom... aren't you excited, Erica?!)

Then I was off to see all my family in the stands:

The sibs who made it

I probably wouldn't have bothered to walk if it weren't for my mom, who was supportive enough to bawl the moment I came up to her (it was a good moment).

 

And then there's my dad, who didn't cry but is very supportive anyway.  My parents rock:

And of course my sweet husband, who puts up with a lot from his teacher-wife.  One of my favorite things about Isaac is that when we got engaged there was never even a conversation about who should finish college first-- he gladly moved to Logan and got a job because he his first priority was for me to accomplish this.  He gets how important school is to me, and never questioned that I should keep going, even when the last couple semesters became very, very difficult in so many ways.  I am so proud to have a husband who backs me up in every way. 

Also a token picture of the building where I lived my life for so many semesters:

And then we headed to the Iron Gate Grill to meet up with my uncle's family for a yummy lunch.

It's important to mention my parent-in-laws, who have been pretty supportive themselves.  They came up too but somehow we missed getting a picture before lunch:

And finally, this is how I feel about the fact that I still have one class left before they will actually mail me my degree on a fancy piece of paper:

I'm not really looking forward to taking care of that. 

I'm working on sending out graduation announcements to a few lucky people... have no idea how long it will take me.  I tried to put in a picture but Shutterfly is being sticky.  The important part of the announcement is that it shows that they are giving me two degrees: Bachelors of Science in Early Childhood Education and Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education.  How cool is that?  They weren't two degrees when I signed up for this thing but they are now, and I'm not going to argue. 

 

I remember now why I never post... because it takes me an hour to write a single entry.  I have got to work on that.