The Holy Grail: the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, and supposedly the most sought after Christian relic. Many of us are familiar with it because of Indiana Jones. He spends an entire two hours of a movie, trying to find it, and in the end, learns a lot of things along the way.
I do believe, in my own mind, a graduation from the University of Michigan is the holy grail of graduations. Everybody wants it, it takes a lot of work to obtain it, and in the end, a person is better because of the journey.
I could hardly believe that after 47 years of living, I was finally going to have this experience. Not for myself of course, but for one of my kids.
We aren't exactly sure why Ethan didn't apply to Michigan as an undergraduate, but I do believe earning two Master's degrees from Michigan more than made up for an undergrad degree from BYU :-) This past weekend, he walked away with a Master's degree from the Ford School of Public Policy, and a Master's in Russian and Eastern European Studies.
I wish I could say that I know exactly what Ethan did over the last two years, but I don't. That detail is up to him and Rebecca to fill in for us. I do know that earning those two degrees wasn't the most difficult thing he ever did--what can I say, Ethan is a smarty pants. However, it might have been one of the most fun life experiences he's ever had.
To quote another movie, Ethan sucked the marrow from the bones of Michigan. He attended football games, he ate at fun and interesting restaurants, he ran races, he became a parent, and he lived the fullest life possible. I don't believe he'll ever look back on his Michigan experience and wish he had done more.
As I sat at the commencement ceremonies for the Ford School, I (along with the rest of family) was overcome with admiration for what Ethan has decided to do with his life. If there exists a "do good" degree, Public Policy would be it. In fact, I told John afterwards that Public Policy almost feels like a degree in the Gospel--it's about helping people who are downtrodden, and attempting to make the world a kinder and more tolerant place.
The CREES degree was just icing on the cake. Afterall, if you're a Kennedy, you always work the deal: two for the price of one!
Obviously, there was great cause for celebration! And I do believe we fit in most everything that is important to Ethan, and to the rest of the Kennedy Klan, in a mere three days.
The temple. Rebecca worked it out so that Glo and Mark could do baptisms while Ethan, John and I did an endowment session. While sitting in the celestial room, John expressed his sincere thanks to Ethan for turning out to be such a great human being. Unexpectedly, Ethan turned the conversation back on John and thanked us for setting such a good example for him for life. I wasn't sure why I was in the temple that evening until that moment, and I couldn't hold back the tears. John then pointed out how blessed we are as parents, knowing that all of our children were in the temple that night, and the one child who wasn't had consecrated eighteen months of her life to the people of Ecuador. How thankful we are to have children who are worthy to attend the temple whenever and wherever they are!
Home. Not our home in PA, but our new home in MI. (Wow, it sure feels awesome to write that!) We had a home inspection of La Maison, and we took the opportunity to bring all of the kids to the house to see what it is like. How happy I was to see how much they love it. Now, if we can just get that leaky roof fixed!
Sports. Ethan spoiled us and bought us tickets for a Tigers game. And not only that, but he got us primo seats! I could hardly believe how easy it was to get to the stadium, and what a nice stadium it is! Of course, Ethan had been stressing for days about the weather, but aside from a few sprinkles, it turned out sunny and beautiful. And to be there, eating corndogs and laughing with the kids? Perfect.
Food. It's never a Kennedy celebration without lots of good food! We ate at some good places: Vinsetta Garage (after the temple), Grand Traverse Pie Company (after our house inspection), Cottage Inn Pizza (for watching Survivor), and Smokehouse 52. The BEST moment was when Ethan walked into Smokehouse 52, wearing his cap and hood (we went directly from the commencement ceremony to the restaurant), and the entire restaurant clapped for him! Oh my gosh, I was so proud! And in true Kennedy style, he took a bow :-)
Family pictures. You know, taking the pictures was fine, but the better part was walking the campus with Ethan. He showed us where he has taught classes, where he has taken classes, and where he has studied. It was fun, seeing how much he loves that campus. I took a lot of pictures, but one of the most fun of Ethan was this one in the reading room of Rackham :-)
Games. We played games. Broom Service is our newest game, and Ethan taught it to us like a pro.
Ceremony.
Can I write that again for emphasis?
Ceremony.
We had three ceremonies to attend (although we should have attended a fourth). We went to the very small ceremony for the International Institute where Ethan received his certificate for CREES.
The next morning, in 50 degree weather with overcast skies and a strong wind, we headed to the BIG HOUSE for the big commencement. Several thousand students filled the field, and the families and friends sat in the stands. Considering this year marks the 200th anniversary of the University of Michigan, it was kind of a big deal. In fact, the university gave out ten bicentennial medals to former Michigan alumni, one of whom is the principal tubist for the Philadelphia Orchestra and the first female tubist hired by a professional orchestra. That meant quite a bit to Glo and me. Also, the songwriters for La La Land who just won Golden Globes and Oscars for their work were given awards. And as if that weren't enough, they then took the stage in the middle of the field and performed an original work written just for the occasion. Leaders and best, what?!?!?
Then, that afternoon, we attended the ceremony for the Ford School. As I wrote above, it was very touching to hear the speakers and to think of the impact those students will have on the world. Unfortunately, many of them don't have jobs because Donald Trump has enacted a hiring freeze on federal jobs....the exact jobs that those students have worked for. How thankful we are that a friend contacted Ethan about a job at Goldman Sachs. Not exactly the public sector, but it IS a job.
Through all of this, I couldn't help but tell Cheese over and over how proud I was of him. He's very quickly checking off all the boxes that have been life goals for him. It's beautiful to see how blessed he and Rebecca are, and I have no doubt it's because of their good choices and just goodness in general.
There are people who spend their whole lives searching for the holy grails of graduation, family, and happiness. I'm glad that my golden boy has managed to find them.
I do believe, in my own mind, a graduation from the University of Michigan is the holy grail of graduations. Everybody wants it, it takes a lot of work to obtain it, and in the end, a person is better because of the journey.
I could hardly believe that after 47 years of living, I was finally going to have this experience. Not for myself of course, but for one of my kids.
We aren't exactly sure why Ethan didn't apply to Michigan as an undergraduate, but I do believe earning two Master's degrees from Michigan more than made up for an undergrad degree from BYU :-) This past weekend, he walked away with a Master's degree from the Ford School of Public Policy, and a Master's in Russian and Eastern European Studies.
I wish I could say that I know exactly what Ethan did over the last two years, but I don't. That detail is up to him and Rebecca to fill in for us. I do know that earning those two degrees wasn't the most difficult thing he ever did--what can I say, Ethan is a smarty pants. However, it might have been one of the most fun life experiences he's ever had.
To quote another movie, Ethan sucked the marrow from the bones of Michigan. He attended football games, he ate at fun and interesting restaurants, he ran races, he became a parent, and he lived the fullest life possible. I don't believe he'll ever look back on his Michigan experience and wish he had done more.
As I sat at the commencement ceremonies for the Ford School, I (along with the rest of family) was overcome with admiration for what Ethan has decided to do with his life. If there exists a "do good" degree, Public Policy would be it. In fact, I told John afterwards that Public Policy almost feels like a degree in the Gospel--it's about helping people who are downtrodden, and attempting to make the world a kinder and more tolerant place.
The CREES degree was just icing on the cake. Afterall, if you're a Kennedy, you always work the deal: two for the price of one!
Obviously, there was great cause for celebration! And I do believe we fit in most everything that is important to Ethan, and to the rest of the Kennedy Klan, in a mere three days.
The temple. Rebecca worked it out so that Glo and Mark could do baptisms while Ethan, John and I did an endowment session. While sitting in the celestial room, John expressed his sincere thanks to Ethan for turning out to be such a great human being. Unexpectedly, Ethan turned the conversation back on John and thanked us for setting such a good example for him for life. I wasn't sure why I was in the temple that evening until that moment, and I couldn't hold back the tears. John then pointed out how blessed we are as parents, knowing that all of our children were in the temple that night, and the one child who wasn't had consecrated eighteen months of her life to the people of Ecuador. How thankful we are to have children who are worthy to attend the temple whenever and wherever they are!Home. Not our home in PA, but our new home in MI. (Wow, it sure feels awesome to write that!) We had a home inspection of La Maison, and we took the opportunity to bring all of the kids to the house to see what it is like. How happy I was to see how much they love it. Now, if we can just get that leaky roof fixed!
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| I might just need to frame this sweet moment <3 |
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| Baby didn't like the feel of the grass on her bare feet ;-) |
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| This is off the front edge of our property. The kids have affectionately titled it "The Dead Marshes" |
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| Can we all just take a moment and appreciate how totally cool just the NUMBERS are?!? |
Sports. Ethan spoiled us and bought us tickets for a Tigers game. And not only that, but he got us primo seats! I could hardly believe how easy it was to get to the stadium, and what a nice stadium it is! Of course, Ethan had been stressing for days about the weather, but aside from a few sprinkles, it turned out sunny and beautiful. And to be there, eating corndogs and laughing with the kids? Perfect.
Food. It's never a Kennedy celebration without lots of good food! We ate at some good places: Vinsetta Garage (after the temple), Grand Traverse Pie Company (after our house inspection), Cottage Inn Pizza (for watching Survivor), and Smokehouse 52. The BEST moment was when Ethan walked into Smokehouse 52, wearing his cap and hood (we went directly from the commencement ceremony to the restaurant), and the entire restaurant clapped for him! Oh my gosh, I was so proud! And in true Kennedy style, he took a bow :-)
Family pictures. You know, taking the pictures was fine, but the better part was walking the campus with Ethan. He showed us where he has taught classes, where he has taken classes, and where he has studied. It was fun, seeing how much he loves that campus. I took a lot of pictures, but one of the most fun of Ethan was this one in the reading room of Rackham :-)
Games. We played games. Broom Service is our newest game, and Ethan taught it to us like a pro.
Ceremony.
Can I write that again for emphasis?
Ceremony.
We had three ceremonies to attend (although we should have attended a fourth). We went to the very small ceremony for the International Institute where Ethan received his certificate for CREES.
The next morning, in 50 degree weather with overcast skies and a strong wind, we headed to the BIG HOUSE for the big commencement. Several thousand students filled the field, and the families and friends sat in the stands. Considering this year marks the 200th anniversary of the University of Michigan, it was kind of a big deal. In fact, the university gave out ten bicentennial medals to former Michigan alumni, one of whom is the principal tubist for the Philadelphia Orchestra and the first female tubist hired by a professional orchestra. That meant quite a bit to Glo and me. Also, the songwriters for La La Land who just won Golden Globes and Oscars for their work were given awards. And as if that weren't enough, they then took the stage in the middle of the field and performed an original work written just for the occasion. Leaders and best, what?!?!?
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| It was a rather cold day to be sitting in the BIG HOUSE for over two hours. I was thankful to even find a hot chocolate vendor, and who cared that it was only luke warm? Not BABY! |
There are people who spend their whole lives searching for the holy grails of graduation, family, and happiness. I'm glad that my golden boy has managed to find them.
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