Weekend of Celebrations!

Wow... it truly was a great weekend. It started out with Sydney and me going out to dinner for a chance to celebrate and enjoy this together. Dinner was followed by a reception for the Master's graduates at the University on Friday night. A glass of wine and some super conversation. It was a great finish to the night. Then on Saturday morning we were up bright and early. The hooding ceremony for the Master's program was at 7:30 am. Then soon after was commencement. Now before moving on with the rest of the weekend ... I must share with you the highlight of commencement. Although this is a story where you probably had to be there to truly find the humor in it... I will share it with you anyway... Trust me when I tell you this was Hilarious.

The highlight of commencement centers around a recent graduate. Beaming with pride as he just finishes walking across the stage he heads back to sit down... lost in the moment,he makes a wrong turn... (There happened to be an couple empty rows of chairs between the faculty and the Master's Graduates and so he turns and heads down this empty row of seats right in front of us rather than the empty row he was supposed to turn down 13 rows back...) Three fourths of the way down the row... He realizes he has made a mistake; he PANICS. Like a prisoner caught in the beams of a spotlight... He.Freezes. Wide Eyed with fear, he frantically looks around... Not knowing what to do he immediately sits down in front of us... trying to blend in... Realizing that it's not working he starts to halfway stand up but then decides to sit back down on the edge of his seat as he desperately attempts to figure out what to do... and you hear him mumble of "Oh sh..." Thoughts race through his mind in this 10 seconds that must.seem.like.an.eternity to him. Mean while, about five of us Master's students begin laughing hysterically.... Tears begin flowing down our faces... He determines this is his cue to get up and move... DO SOMETHING... ANYTHING to end this humiliation. My buddy Joe and I laughed for a good 5 minutes after he scampered back to his seat... completely humiliated. Trust me when I tell it was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. That alone made walking through commencement worth it.

ANYWAY, moving on...

Sunday we went to church (so I could seek forgiveness for laughing cruelly at the guy in the story above) and then afterwards, Sydney surprised me with a reception with all of our friends. It was great. Sydney really did a great job of making this weekend special. I must say that if Sydney wasn't there right beside me, encouraging me every step of the way, then it wouldn't have been as special. Why she ever married me, I will never know... but boy am I thankful. I wouldn't be half the person I am today with out her. Thanks for the great weekend Syd! I Love You!

Photo's are updated.