High School Graduation

Well, I'm a week late in posting but I have had so little to say of late. I haven't taken many pictures either. Since I have an unwritten rule that I'm the only family member I can expose on this blog in any significant way, it is harder to post when I am preoccupied with family matters. The good news is both kids are now out of school and the atmosphere at home has become markedly more relaxed.



Number one son is now a high school graduate. He graduated in a very nice ceremony at Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. Although it is called a chapel it looks more like a cathedral. I think the distinction is that the University of Chicago was originally of Protestant affiliation. As to my non-exposure philosophy, I will show pictures more of the graduation and less of the graduate.



The chapel is quite beautiful. Graduating here is becoming a bit of a family tradition. My brother-in-law graduated from the business school there. I received my Ph.D. diploma in this building (and my M.D. in an outdoor ceremony two years later). My husband does not have any U of C degrees but has seen off some of his students in the same building I believe. It is hard to keep track because some U of C graduations are held out of doors in the quadrangles.



I have mixed feelings about my affiliations with the university in a sort of best of times/worst of times kind of way. I met my husband and had my children near or on campus. I also worked long hours struggling to finish a Ph.D. that at times seemed to be going nowhere fast. Even though I'm Jewish, finishing up an experiment in the lab on Christmas Day can feel kind of mournful. One reason I do clinical work full time now and not scientific research which was my original plan is to avoid a lifetime of 60 plus hour work weeks.
But enough about me. I am very proud of my graduate and even got a tiny bit choked up at the ceremony. I am also thinking about his imminent departure from my home on a daily basis. The house will seem empty without him. He is going to school just down the block at, you guessed it, the University of Chicago so we'll see more of him than if he had left the area but in the interest of allowing him to successfully leave the nest, we are going to endeavor mightily to give him plenty of space. I think if his little brother had his way, he'd be hanging out in his older brother's dorm room as often as possible. The local arrangement does save us worrying too much about sending our 17 year old (he skipped a grade) off on his own.
So I'll sign off now lest I bore you all to tears.