Congrats Brother!

My brother graduated from college a week and a half ago.  We all headed out to Tacoma to see him and congratulate him.  A very exciting time to be sure.  I wasn't that excited with it but I hope he took it all in and appreciated it.  It is quite an accomplishment.

I really admire him for being brave enough to go out there and carve out a place for himself.  I do miss him though.  I have to work harder at staying in contact.

I'm very happy to have another English degree in the family.  Way to follow in my footsteps Riley!

Here's him coming by for his walk across stage:

Remember the moment you walked across the stage, Riley.  For me, that was the moment that I was proudest.  I didn't like school and didn't really care that much when I graduated but it hit me in that moment.  I had a college degree.  And it is something to be proud of.  Congrats my brother.

While I was there I did some thinking about college life.  In a lot of ways I felt like I was robbed of my college experience.  I didn't really get to choose a school I wanted and I've struggled with feeling jealous of my siblings who did.  I hated school mostly because I was so out of place and so unhappy.  It was a really hard time.  So it is hard for me to see people who had great college experiences and really grew as people/  I guess there's no crying over spilled milk though.  I'm luckier than a lot of people.

Still, had I been able to choose a place to go to college, I would have chosen Washington or Oregon.  It is such a beautiful area and I FELT at home there.  I love the weather.  It's so beautiful and just... perfect.  If I could move there with my house I would.  It's strange coming on the heels of having just decided to stay in the Springs.  I did commit to a year or two here but after that maybe I will look into moving up there.  I would be such a wonderful area to live.

Want to see some of the beauty?

It was a really good trip but of course as soon as I came home I got sick.  Of course.  It's over a week later and I'm still feeling sick.  I lost my voice the last couple of days and that was really hard.  You never realize how much you have to say until you can't say anything at all.  Really sucks.  Hopefully my throat will go back to normal here soon because every time I have to teach it hurts.  I'd like that to stop.

Oh and can I just say I'd pay good money for a flight with no babies and no big people who can't fly with taking over half my seat in the process.  I'd pay good good money for that.