Happy Haligration!

That's how Grayson says Happy Graduation. "Happy Haligration mom!"  I swear, I'll miss this stage someday. I tried to post a video but it didn't upload. Bella jumped in bed with me yesterday morning and said "Happy Graduation mom, good job!" Ryan told them that it was my graduation day. It's hard to understand when there's no real ceremony here. That's the downside to going to school all online. We opted not to go to the actual ceremony and save the time and money for a real family vacation later.

Anyhow, yesterday was the big day! I graduated from my Master's in Nursing with an education emphasis. My goal is to teach nursing, which I'm kind of already doing now. Two years of struggle, homework, late nights, early mornings, sacrifices for the whole family, study days, homework days, naptime study sessions and paper writing. It was all worth it! I still can't believe that I finished and it's done. How is that possible?

Yesterday we celebrated as a family. We surprised the kids with Chuck E Cheese, McDonalds for them, sushi for us and Kopp's custard. It was a family celebration because we accomplished it as a family. I honestly wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of those around me. Ryan made it possible for me to spend time studying and writing papers. Heck, he even proof read my papers in the early days! The kids had to understand that mommy had to do homework on the computer. Bella understood that I was going to school to "teach grown ups about taking care of sick kids". She now wants to be a teacher and teach 11th grade. Celebrating as a family was important!

I'm proud of myself! I graduated from graduate school while working full-time, going to school full time, having a family with 3 kids under 6. It wasn't always pretty, my house was sometimes a royal disaster, I often looked like a hot mess. My point here is that if you want something bad enough, you can do it. Set your mind to it and go for it. Once you accomplish it, celebrate!