Law School Graduation... Duke Law School Graduation... just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Try it... Duke Law School Graduation. The four little (okay graduation isn't little) words to describe a 2500 mile move across the country,3 years of school, 2 summer internships,4-2000 mile van trips, 2 houses sold, innumerable numbers of hours studying, many friends left, many new friends made...
What can I say? We put our whole hearts, minds, bodies and lives into this adventure. What we have gained in knowledge, experience, friendships, growth and love has been well worth the journey. When we moved to NC we had a 5 year old kindergartener and a 3 month old baby. We are leaving with a reading and math amazing 2nd grader (going into 3rd grade) and a precocious, talking 3 year old. We came with few gray hairs and are leaving with lots more. We came with dreams of bettering our lifestyle and we are leaving after bettering our lives.
What has it taught me? First and foremost that I love the man I married more than I've ever known was possible. That, in and of itself, is worth the challenges of the last three years. Second is that my girls are resilient positive fountains of energy that make my life worth living. What a depressing thought it was to me when I thought I'd put Abby on the bus to kindergarten and have empty days ahead. What a blessing Iris was at the last minute... Which leads me to what else I learned, that God loves me, knows me and wants me to trust Him.
I also learned what a forest is, what a mountain is, what a beach vacation looks like and what fall is. NC seasons and landscape can't be explained but must be experienced.
My hope for the future is to never forget our times here, what lead us here and ultimately what's been accomplished here. I hope we take away with us the gift of those pieces of themselves our friends have shared with us. I hope we can keep in touch with our neighbors who made living here so pleasant. Mostly I hope to NEVER have to go back to school again!
Here are some pictures from Nate's graduation. We were blessed to have his parents here to spend the week before and to attend this special day. The week was perfect. The girls behaved, the weather was nice and Nate had lots of time to spend with them and us.
Iris waiting for graduation!
Abby waiting for graduation!
Nate's parents waiting for graduation!
Nate's processional!
Two bags of fruit snacks did the trick in keeping Iris happy!
Sneaked up to take a picture and give him a kiss!
Waiting to cross the stage!
The "Hooding", kind of blurry, but it happened!
The Graduate with his awesomely supportive family!
The Graduate with his proud parents!
So graduation was amazing, but here is a story to brag about. Picture this, we are driving to Cameron Stadium to find parking. A parking guard informs us that the lot is full and we need to turn around and park a long ways away. I tell them that I need to at least drive up and drop my in-laws off. There was no way they could make the hike up there. I'm perfectly prepared to drop them off with the girls, park and then walk up myself (in heels which is a rarity for me). However, as I'm about to get to the drop off point a car pulls out of the second stall next to the stadium (this is almost as good as handicap parking) and I slide right in there. Second best parking spot available... now that was AWESOME!!!!
And one more announcement-- WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!!!! We close on June 22!
11 comments:
Yay for graduation and yay for selling the house! Two wonderful occasions!! Now onto the move, good luck!
Amy, what a beautiful summation of your experience. I'm thrilled to have been a small part of it and I will miss you! But at least you will move back to the west knowing what a beach really is... ;)
Congrats, Nate!!!! (and congrats on the home--that's terrific news, too!)
Very nicely put Amy. I'm certain you will not soon be forgotten. Wish you all the best in your next adventure, and hope you "find joy in the journey" Congrats to you all on ALL accounts!
Congrats, Nate and Amy!!
So many good things to choose from in this post, but the winner has got to be the parking spot:)
Congrats to Nate on a job well done! And congrats to you on a great parking space! :)
Yay! Soon you will be rich and can afford to come visit us whenever we want. I mean whenever you want. ;-)
Congratulations Nate! We are excited to have you guys closer. Can't wait to meet up at the zoo again. Have a safe move and we hope to see you all soon.
Congrats! It was fun to see Nate at the wedding and reception, and I was happy to hear from him that you sold your house! Great news, I'm sure it will be nice to all be together in Utah soon!
As far as going back to school goes, it should be an option, as it can be a backup plan in case your husband became disabled like some other blogger's husband did.
Post a Comment