This fall became a more intense semester than I anticipated, and I have basically skipped over Halloween - to early 2019. Here are some annotated events that I espeically loved.
For Halloween, Kevin was a kid on a roller coaster (he’s obsessed with each and every coaster he can ride). Damian was Stitch again. I was a half-committed Lilo, that was mistaken for a mom in a red dress. We had a perfect warm, colorful night for trick or trick. It was magic.
It was nice to have my brother Joel home from his first duty station as a Marine and my sister Abby home from Colorado for Thanksgiving. A lot has changed this year, but we made the most of our time and we played Drawful until Joel had to leave.
Since we didn’t have commencement in Summer, I participated in the (rainy) December event. I needed to acknowledge that I had actually finished my bachelors degree. There was only a short break between intense summer classes and my graduate classes. Everything seemed to blur together, beacuse I hadn’t really internalized that I had accomplished this personal goal until commencement. It was really special to walk out and see my sons, parents, and Dr. Schiml (my mentor, professor, & lab jedi of the Henessy-Schiml lab I’ve work in for two years) waving at me as we took our seats. There were a lot of sacrifices, so it was important to celebrate this milestone with my support system. I recommend doing this, even if it is a semester late!
I had found this graduation hat listing on Etsy that resembled the Mexican bingo game that we used to play as kids (my mom would supply pinto beans -uncooked obviously- as the bingo chips). When I asked if PrintableAndAwesome could design a custom hat with my sons, (from a picture I sent them), I was so excited that they were able to help me honor such a large part of my identity and focus. It is truly a privilege to be a mamá y graduada (mommy and graduate)!
Etsy Store: PrintableAndAwesome
My graduation pictures were taken by my good friend, Briana, from Knack Creative
We had a lot of excitement leading up to Christmas, including orchestra concert (Kevin) and Christmas choir performance (Damian). Christmas week was quiet, but in a very relaxing way. My sons went to Florida for their entire break to see their family. I’ve learned to try to use their trips as a time to repair and sleep. This break was the reset that I needed after such an intense month leading to finals. I unplugged and lived in my pajamas. I did it so well, that it took thirty minutes to find my keys 1.5 weeks later.
Before I knew it, I was picking up my sons and headed to see my sister, Rachel, graduate with a bachelors degree in Information Technology (as a single mom of three!). Three out of four of us sisters graduated with bachelors degree in 2018, which is wild if you consider that we have about thirteen years between us! So proud to share this accomplishment with my sisters and to know that we each sacrificed a great deal to be where we are.
This was Abby’s Spring 2018 Wright State Graduation, with a Dobby graduation hat (of course). She’s a 2nd grade teacher in Colorado now! My son, Damian, was lucky to have her as a student teacher in Math last year.
The boys arrived just in time for our first major snowfall this year. Kev is now taller than me when I wear heels and Damian is trying to catch up.
Hahahaha… I love their big gloves (borrowed them from my dad). They love snow.
We are getting back into school routines and enjoying the sound of their voices in the house again. I’ll have to get back to you on the rest of the -ARY ending of this month. Clearly though, it’s the in-between scenes that I treasure.
-Andrea