Coming Home is one of life's best moments. I believe it will be one of the next life's best moments also. So this blog is dedicated to what I view as the best moments of life.
After the ceremony we went home to rest and recover and dance. Lucy gave us a preview to her ballet recital and then the rest of the fam joined in for an Aaron Stoker family favorite.
Then it was celebration time. I was lucky enough to ride with the kids and we made up additional verses to "If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops." "Lollipops and Shave ice" and "Pizza and ice cream" were a few of the more delicious ideas. It was a lovely dinner and gathering. All my favorite things, good food, good people, darling grandchildren and people saying nice things about my son. My kind of event.
I was impressed that Col. Arnold presented certificates to Aaron's family for their sacrifice and contribution in his completion of the program. It was well earned. Thank you Clarissa, for being such a wonderful wife, mother, daughter-in-law and friend.
And then there were the "Good Job Aaron" talks. They were generous and kind, but so important when someone has come to the end of a long arduous journey. And when his residency friend said "Aaron is patient and caring, and I never saw him lose his temper," There wasn't a more grateful mother. So basically, the best night ever.
There's something about watching a child struggle and fight and sweat and work with all he has to get to the finish line that just makes my mom heart burst with pride. This kid and his brave and loving wife just completed their Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. It was an honor to attend the graduation ceremony, and I was enriched by the experience.
I've been to a couple of graduations, but not an army graduation. It was the DENTAC GRADUATE EDUCATION COMMENCEMENT and there were only 10 total graduates-6 Dentists, 3 Endodontists, and 1 Oral Surgeon. That right there makes for a very doable sit. It's very easy to watch 10 people get their diplomas. Talk away. We'll be fine.
We began the ceremony with the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner." I was already starting to feel very thankful for my freedom when things got even better. The Chaplain said, "We will now exercise our religious freedom and pray." Yeah, my religious freedom! The freedom that many have given their lives for. The freedom the soldiers in the room had promised to defend. Can we take a moment to commit to defend our religious freedom and never take it for granted? That statement alone made me want to pray with more faith, more resolve, and more gratitude.
Then the retired General spoke and told us that the Army residency program was known for it's rigor and preparation for life. I thought of the 4 years my son worked into the night and came home to sleeping children. I remember visiting Aaron's family and waking up in the morning to little Lion King pictures that Aaron had drawn and left on the table so his children knew he loved them. I thought of how proud I am of my children and anyone else who chooses to do hard things and doesn't quit even though they wanted to many times.
Then they presented the Certificates. When Colonel Arnold presented Aaron's he started by saying, "And now for the Delta Force of Dentistry..." We laughed, but I appreciated the comparison, because this kid earned the compliment.
And then they sang the Army song. I've heard it at a hundred 4th of July celebrations, but it was different this time. I was proud and thankful to contribute to those who defend our country. And by contribute I mean give birth to a soldier and patriot.
March along, sing our song, with the Army of the free.
Count the brave, count the true, who have fought to victory.
We're the Army and proud of our name
We're the Army and proudly proclaim
First to fight for the right,
And to build the Nation's might...
He got a cool coin and we had some delicious cake. It was a great ceremony.
But I think the best recognition of all was this note from Lucy:
Well, we finally got all the senior pictures taken and hung on the wall. This kid didn't make it easy I tell ya.
When Gabe was a senior we decided that we would wait until he got his braces off to get his picture. That sounded reasonable. Well, that didn't happen until minutes (exaggeration) before he left for college. So he slipped away without sitting for a photographer. He came home for break and my chances were looking good and then covid...Somewhere between "After my braces come off" and "Now's a good time." child #9 decided he didn't need a senior pic. "You've already got 8 kids on the wall. It looks good." What in the world? I decided to act casual. He'd change his mind. "Tra la la" "I'm not worried" "Whenever you're ready." Unfortunately, after many months, Gabe was getting further rather than closer to agreeing to have his professional picture taken. Being the good--scratch that--mother that I am, it was time for me to take action. To show that it mattered to me, I changed the picture frame configuration from 4 X 2 to 3 X 3. I then proved that I meant business by blowing up a snapshot of his grad night and putting it in the frame.
He expressed his annoyance that other people were in his picture, but he did not consent to having his own picture taken.
My next course of action was to leverage. 1. Gabe needs to wear his retainer to work everyday. I told him that if he forgot his retainer, and I had to bring it to him, he would owe me a picture. Well, his retainer had perfect attendance at work. 2. Gabe always takes a nap when he gets home from work in the afternoon. He tends to sleep too long making it hard to sleep at night. Then he's tired in the morning so he takes a long nap, making it hard to sleep at night...I told him he needed to be awake and offering to help with dinner at 5:00. If he slept longer than 5:00 3 times he would owe me a senior picture. That kid was downstairs by 5:00 every evening. I thought I'd never get his picture, when a couple of weeks ago he came to me and said, "I'm going to give you a senior picture for your birthday, and I'm going to pay for it." That was music to my ears. What a wonderful gift. Smile, smile smile. Of course I jumped right on it. The whole event was scheduled and complete in 5 days.
Now, I have all my children's picture on the wall, and I'm a happy mom. Oh, and Gabe gets to sleep until 5:30 undisturbed. As the saying goes, "Win win."
Covid-19 blah, blah, blah. I feel like all I’ve done for the last 5 months is talk about Covid-19. It’s new, it’s scary, it’s inconvenient, it’s life changing, it’s life taking, it’s polarizing. All those things are real and true, but I believe in looking for the good in all things. One good thing that I’d really like to remember this summer is our family theme picture activity. We took turns choosing a theme each week. Every family member and their family created a picture according to the theme. Some weeks we guessed, other weeks we captioned. There were usually awards, but there were always smiles and love and a tiny bit of competitive spirit. The themes and entries were as follows:
Week 1-Blue. (Chosen by Laurie)
Week 2: Inclement Weather (Chosen by Daniel)
"Tornado came through!"
"We had to make our own rain. Not sure how helpful umbrellas are for horizontal rain."
A Spring Day in Georgia: Frost warning in the morning. Thunderstorm warning in the afternoon followed by a heat advisory.
Hurricane's a comin'
"Sometimes the weather needs a little outside help."
Week 3: Colloquial phrases (Chosen by Brandon)
"Stop and smell the roses."
"Keep me posted"
"Cute as a button."
"Best thing since sliced bread."
"Better late than never."
"Under the weather."
"Bob's your uncle."
"On the ball."
"Ignorance is bliss."
I'd rather be...as in not quarantined. (Chosen by Nathan)
Graduating
With my family
At the temple
Playing video games with my brothers
On the lake
At the French Open
Swimming
At Disney World
At the zoo
Camping
In Quicksand "Read in sassy 'I'd rather stick pins in my eye' voice."
...banana...banana...banana...banana...orange you glad I didn't say banana?
Week 10: "20 second dance video." (Chosen by Gabe.)
Fun times. And now it's August and school's going to try and start, and we're just going to roll with the pandemic and riots and dechero storm and fires and all the other opportunities for refinement and reflection that are being afforded us right now. And hopefully have a little fun along the way.
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