{Shout out: Moms}

Before I post part B of graduation, I wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! I admire moms so much. Lately I've been watching the transition my sister has made into motherhood. Sometimes it looks really fun. Sometimes it looks really hard. But at all times, my sister never misses a beat. I never hear her complain of her baby girl being an inconvenience.

As I reflect on my childhood with my own mother, we had some great times and some typical hard times. But never, ever, did I ever feel like I was in mom's way or that she wished she never had me. That is an incredible feeling. I'm not sure everyone can say the same in this world so I realize that I have a special gift. My mom is truly one of my best friends. I can call her anytime and often I'm the one doing the complaining but she just listens. She fights for me. Not physically, but she has taught me to stand up for what is right. Basically, "she's got my back!"

I have this printed out and framed. It is so true!

This past year I also gained another mother, Todd's mom. I prayed for a long time that whoever I marry would have a mother that would accept me for who I am and that we would get along. I'm very thankful for Carol and the relationship I have with her. I've been able to open up to her and have some great discussions that I would have with my own mother. She has great qualities about her that I admire. Often Todd even laughs and says, "I married my mother!" Honestly, I take that as a compliment. The number one thing we have common is our love for Todd. I have mad respect for her for raising him (& Matt) as a single mom. She did a great job. She also does a great job of letting me be his wife and letting her be his mom, a mom that doesn't "baby" him anymore. Plus, she always likes my outfits even if Todd doesn't ;) 

Thank you Moms! I love you both SO much! It was great to hang out with you each this weekend. Thanks for all you do!

-S

{Graduation: Part A}

Warning: there are no pictures in this post :/ 

Remember how I said my sinuses were messing with me? Well, they flat out knocked me down! By Wednesday I was so congested and as if that wasn't bad enough, I was nauseous. I had to leave work early both on Wednesday and Thursday. The best way to describe the feeling was like a zombie. I didn't care about anything. I went to the doctor Thursday and it was determined I had a sinus infection and that the drainage was probably causing me to be so nauseous. Just imagine being in a car going over rolling hills non-stop. Even sleeping didn't help. All that to say, I didn't go to work on Friday and did everything I could to try to get well. Friday was also the day of my graduation from graduate school. Bad timing!

The ceremony was to be at 6 (I had to be there at 5:15) and by 2 that day, just as all my family was arriving, I began to accept the fact that I was just too sick to go. I was so worried that I was going to let everyone down since they had all taken off work and drove up to the mountains. Of course my family is awesome and reassured me they would not be disappointed. Besides, we were celebrating Todd too and he was healthy! :)

I'm stubborn though, and took more nausea medicine AND went to my ceremony. I had all the exit doors mapped out just in case I needed to run out. Honestly, in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have gone. It was hard but at the same time, it is a moment I had waited on for so long. The good news is that I made it through the ceremony (yay, I'm a Master!) but the bad news is that by the end I had a raging headache (I hadn't had solid food in two days & I wasn't allowed to keep water with me by my side during the ceremony). Bad combo.

We (all my family plus Todd's parents) went back to the cabin my parents had rented to hang out but I wasn't much fun. At all.

The next day was Todd's graduation. I woke up feeling slightly better. Less nausea. (Oh, and if you are reading this thinking, "girl, are you pregnant?" the answer is no! Everyone has asked that.) So, I went to Todd's graduation and it was so GREAT to see him walk across that stage. It has been a long journey as most of you know and I think everyone that knows Todd's story can all say that we are all proud of him.

That afternoon we celebrated graduations and mothers day with a cookout (me, still not feeling super). It was fun to hang out with family, all in one room. I literally sat in the same seat for hours, completely still. I prayed. A lot. A miracle happened around 4 pm. Suddenly I began to feel better. No more nausea. Thank the Lord! By 7 I was HUNGRY!

The entire fam placed take out orders from Outback and here is the victory: I ate a steak, baked potato and green beans...no nausea! I finally felt like myself again. I can't express how joyous that feeling is after days of sickness and thinking "will I ever feel well again?!"

I know my sickness is so "minimal" compared to what others go through but sometimes we get knocked down like that and learn so much from it. Being healthy is something I hope to never take for granted. My prayer today is for all of those that are sick, whether short-term or long-term. I wish nobody ever had to suffer from being sick in any form.

Sorry this post was so long. I'm an over-sharer but it is truly part of my graduation story. Part B will be much happier, with lots of pictures!

-S