My First Graduation – Back to School Picture Frame Gift
Photo Expressions!
We are celebrating graduation in our household in May!
It is a BIG DEAL especially since my older daughter is really into the action. It is not so much a big deal as to why you may think it is a big deal. It is a big deal because after many years, hours, effort, frustration and sudden impulses of defeat, my Veteran husband is completing his associates degree and our two girls (and mommy, of course!) are celebrating with him. I’m making a big deal complete with a nice party but it is only for us and a very few select friends per Bob’s request (sigh!) yet I am going ALL OUT for this one big celebration and I can tell he is getting really excited, too. Yes!
Most of this celebration – per Bob’s wishes which I surveyed like a good partner- is all about including our two girls. After all, he said he is doing most of the graduation celebration (including walking at his ceremony ‘what 40 year old walks at his ceremony at a community college?’ he said. Ummm..you!) for them. He wants them to be able to continue to complete their goals at all ages and he really does want them to continue their studies beyond high school. I’m including tons of cool products I researched with his celebration so our girls also feel like graduates like this awesome photo grad frame for both girls from Expressly Yours and they will get pics done in their own *gasp* cap and gown to MATCH DADDY. And, don’t worry, he is getting his own frame too, but his is for his college degree certificate! Oh yeah!
Someone is getting excited about daddy’s big day!
This picture will have to do until the big day! This was taken with a timed camera with three out of four of us with allergies/colds, so it was a little tricky to do…..
So how did we get those adorable graduation gowns for the girls?
Thank you, Etsy friend! How CUTE are these cap and gown outfits we are getting made for both the girls from the WinzyDesign Etsy Store for Bob’s big deal!? Kate, the owner, is a doll.
But first – let me tell you a little bit more about why this graduation is a big deal. If you are frequent reader, you know that I have known Bob since HIGH SCHOOL and we dated since I was 21! So, yes, I know his journey well and have been a part of it for the majority of my life!
It all started with his path after high school here in the U.S. of A. Some of us struggle to get through college by paying bills, some of us are lucky to have the funds, some of us suffer through enormous debt and others join the military and hope to eventually use their Veterans benefits. My husband did the latter. He wanted to go to college, didn’t have money to pay for it and his dad (and his dad’s dad) were all Veterans. So, why not?
Unfortunately, after he was honorably discharged from military years later, his education -the main reason he went into the Army, mind you- didn’t seem so important to him. He wanted to make real money and at the time, it was easier to just go into the work force and use his GI Bill sporadically. I understood (though not always easy) and with Bob’s magnetic outgoing personality – as we are total opposites socially- he scored a very nice position at the corporate office of the company he basically started at the bottom four years later! Yeah. He’s pretty cool in that whole social management scene and still keeps in touch with his old employees.
Until – he was laid off. Think post-2008 housing market bust with the first surge of the economy tanking and suddenly – it became a big deal he did not have a degree and NO JOB. GULP. What were we going to do?
Is a Degree Really That Important?
Sure. For many reasons. But, also the process of learning is not something that stops with or without a degree. So, let us not forget that. But, it was time for Bob to go back to school.
Degree vs. Education vs. Learning
Webster’s dictionary defines a degree as a stage in a scale of intensity or amount, so a degree can determine a certain level of mastery. I kind of like another way it is defined in the process of learning and that is ‘any of a series of steps or stages’ which just means that while that is one way we scale and rank how much we know, it is not the end of learning.
My take (this is my blog after all, so it is allowed)?
Hey, I love to learn (part of the reason I started an early education-dedicated blog) yet I have never thought or said that I needed a piece of paper to tell me or anyone else what my/their capacity is for learning. It is too subjective in so many areas with many people having differing abilities on how to measure and learn. I understand the need and the purpose for higher education (I am a part of the learning proponent of our learning machine we created in America), but I also have lots of belief and first hand experience that has led me to believe that getting a degree does not equipped someone with being a productive member of society, the community or even a knowledgeable employee. We as humans need to adapt and change our learning as we and technology grow. I began to hypothesize that that is what drives a successful economy. How could we (as parents) help create an intelligent and well-informed society with open discussions and easy adaptation? Through learning, right?
So what exactly are we measuring and why do we place so much emphasis on degrees?
I couldn’t exactly tell you except it has become an easy way for human resources to qualify candidates. A piece of paper isn’t exactly a great scale at how much each person will contribute to a company or to the world. I’d love to hear someone tell Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg (or Steve Jobs, R.I.P.) that all of their growth to our country’s GDP means a hill of beans to our Ivy League schools. Most of what we consider successful is by growth and earning potential and that seems to come with life experience on top of your learning capacity. And Okay, like a great friend pointed out, I definitely do not mean to infer the inverse is true, I promise you. Degrees could mean you have very specific job skill set in a specific area which is extremely important and who is to say that the post-graduate environment-while not perfect- could still a high gateway to achieving higher learning. And, of course, in our society we pull together our collective resources as a nation (as in many counties) to fund research and education in academia which I think is a huge asset in development in our world’s knowledge. I have been part of (and thought highly of many) state and federally funded academia programs to help breakthrough research as well as provide job opportunities to specific candidates in state-funded colleges. I mean, just take Albert Einstein and all of his funded research papers! However, even Einstein knew that (while certainly a major aspect) education did not guarantee that burning desire in a person to learn and have curiosity. So, as a segue –
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” -Albert Einstein
With all that said, I am proud of our degrees and will eventually finish my PhD if it is ‘in the cards’ (the program I had to drop was extremely labor intensive and after Bob got laid off it wasn’t feasible.) I am also proud of my husband who is the smartest person I know with or without a piece of paper from a state-accredited university.
But guess what? He is getting a degree the first week of May (all classes are complete and passed) and I’m excited!
Don’t Give Up if you Want Your Degree!
Bob’s road in higher learning education institutions has been tough and extremely rocky for him. Luckily, as a Veteran, Bob did invest in an education program- and there are other programs that exist- for those who served our country to continue their education. He has taken advantage of them. We are proud, he is proud and he should not be embarrassed about his long journey to get there. Learning doesn’t have an expiration date, right? He wants no attention for his completion (sorry, Bob, you know I was going to write this on the blog!), but he is finally, after many, many years of struggle for him and our family, is getting his associate’s degree and we, as a family, want to CELEBRATE in a small way together! After that, who knows! He has about a year left (part-time) to get his Bachelors degree if he so chooses and is already accepted to start attending after summer. Whatever way he chooses, we are proud of daddy in whatever way he wants to continue to learn in life.
And, yes, let’s frame that ‘piece of paper’ on the wall. daddy. You earned it.
Gearing up for Bob’s small family affair graduation party in early May! Yes, I plan to fold the flag. Notice the vintage Army Medic bag in the picture! It’s a gift since Bob was a medic in the Army. I think he will love it.
Congrats to all graduates (Pre-K to PhD) in the 2014 Season. We are Proud of You! Of course, we were proud of the journey that got you here, too! Let’s not forget that!
Note to Bob: After a million re-writes after weeks of edits – and even having three friends look at this post – and re-writing again….I realized I could never really write what I want to say in one post about your first college graduation… I guess I just wanted to say, in a very public way, that I love you and I am proud of you. However, I have always felt that way about you. Your forty years on this planet have so more experience than a two year post-graduate degree could ever sum up and I certainly can’t do it in a single post. I tried! I really, really, really tried. Love ya, babe!
My First Graduation – Back to School Picture Frame Gift
List Price: $ 7.99
Momma's Bacon 