From Poison Ivy to Halls of Ivy

T-- and I attended our graduation ceremony last Sunday. Barely. We were coming off a long weekend spent at camp in Penn Yan with the young people from church and we had a late start on the road. Then we missed the turn for the NYS Thruway and wasted a half hour cruising around the Fingerlakes. But all our anxiety was for nothing (as usual) as we ended up at the Buffalo State College campus with a few minutes to spare.

We were quickly ushered into a basement hallway where we put on our gowns and caps. I felt a little foolish as I took a look at myself reflected in a window pane. I kept feeling the urge to say, "Welcome to Hogwarts," to everyone I saw. We lined up and proceeded to walk into the auditorium.

After a half-dozen speeches we were called to the stage one by one to shake a few hands and receive a pin and a medallion. The medallion is really cool looking. Does everyone get one when they graduate? I thought I would just get a piece of paper. Then it was time to say visit with the faculty and get some pictures with family.

I originally hadn't planned on going to graduation. It just seemed like a waste of money and time. Because Empire State College is a distance learning school without a campus we were using another college's auditorium, and it wasn't like this was going to be my last chance to socialize with my classmates because I had never met any! Plus, as anyone who has ever visited my church will attest, I don't go in much for ceremony!

But T-- talked me into it because my favorite professor was speaking. And I'm so glad I went. It provided me an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. And even though I had received my diploma in the mail months ago, I hadn't yet experienced the sense of accomplishment that I felt on Sunday afternoon. Now I actually feel like "I graduated."

Maybe there's a lesson in all this. So often I just rush from one commitment to another. Perhaps I would feel a little more satisfaction in life if I paused for a moment to appreciate the accomplishment of a job well done before jumping headfirst into the next thing on my to-do list.