So chris and I had lot of time to reflect on the really great graduation weekend as we drove home for 8 hours in the rain on Sunday. Chris graduated with his Doctor of Ministry degree on Saturday after working on it for 6 years(so proud of all of his hard work)!! It was a busy weekend--and we didn't get a chance to see a bunch of people who we wanted to see--but it was a wonderful time of bringing some pretty important parts of our lives full circle.
For me, it started in the bathroom of the Richards Center at Columbia. The kids and i had been riding the MARTA for an hour & a half and realized that we really had to go to the bathroom as we got to Columbia for the graduation picnic...Suddenly it hit me that the last time i had been in that bathroom had probably been 9 years ago as I was there for Chris' MDiv graduation, a week before our wedding. And here I was, with my blessed children reflecting at the top of their lungs about trains (let's just say we were a bit of a hit on the MARTA) and how much toilet paper EB should use and when Heath would stop wearing diapers (daddy is going to work on this post-school). Goodness life is different now than it was then. I just laughed out loud, and I think the person in the other stall did as well...
We had some wonderful time to see beloved professors and friends. We were able to say "thank you" (doesn't quite seem enough) to the director of the DMin program who wouldn't let Chris quit when Heath was in the hospital in those dark, pre-transplant days. "We don't need to make that decision right now, do we?" he had said.
Our children ran around with friends' kids on the quad--only 1 had been alive all those 9 years ago (we were remembering hannah in her baby carrier at our wedding...). Vickie graduated with her D.Ed.Min. with Chris--having known him as a close family friend since middle school. What an amazing feeling to watch Dawn Martin Hyde graduate with her M.Div.--after spending our time in Burlington together, and our lives constantly intersecting.
On Thursday Colleen and her whole family met us at the aquarium--what a wonderful time to meet new friends (EB made a new special friend in C's niece, Abby). Ask us about the dolphin broadway show--only if you dare (chris might sing)! On Friday we ran around the playground with the Lamars--smiling as our children enjoyed playing together just as we have enjoyed spending time together all these years. We had a wonderful dinner with family (cindy & matt, pat & bob) and friends (those wonderful 3 sets of friends who had housed Chris over the years--lamars, kimberly & ellen, colussy-estes) and were thinking about how amazing it is to be able to have those people together, having made so many memories throughout the years together.
We took a walk on Saturday from our hotel (wow--kids love hotels...) to the Centennial Olympic Park fountains. The joy of watching Heath run through the shooting water was almost too much to take for this mama. (Aunt Cindy almost got to go in with EB, too!)
Who would have thought, a year or so ago, we'd be laughing at the extreme joy he found in being soaked through, running around with lots of other children?
We even made it back to NC in time to have a really nice Mother's Day dinner with Mar & Rog and Aunt Nancy & Uncle Robert at Mom and Strow's house. And we all danced, just in case you were wondering...
I suppose all of this is to say--wow--life really surprises you with the goods and the not-so-goods and all of the time in between. I am sure that we'll continue to come full circle, or perhaps we'll just keep running in circles (we'll throw chris' new graduation garb in the costume box for the kiddos) but i sure hope that we will be able to stop and appreciate the love & memories & miracles along the way. I hope you'll do the same, my friends.
Speaking of miracles--we have been able to help jump-start a new campaign for Duke Children's with the Children's Miracle Network that pairs bloggers with patient families. Shell, who writes the "Things I can't say" blog, wrote about our story and is helping with the Miracle Moms campaign--
check it out!
we'll be seeing you soon!
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