So. . .he had absolutely no intention of going to graduation this time around either. However, then he got some horrible news. There is a hooding ceremony. Not only do you have to wear ridiculous clothes in front of everyone, you actually have to have someone else put it on for you in front of a crowd of people. Of course, he figured he would skip that too. . .and then found out that it was only his program, a very small group, and it would be offensive to faculty and his cohort to skip out. For the sake of being inconspicuous he had to put on the silly costume and go be conspicuous. To be fair, it was a bit of an awkward ceremony. However, I do think it was nice to take the time to celebrate the accomplishment and have some closure on this chapter of our life. In keeping with tradition, he skipped actual graduation.
We debated for a while whether or not to take Shad to a formal affair that he wouldn't understand or remember but decided we wanted him there for our own sake. He has been a part of this journey too so we wanted him included. Dan's parents and grandparents came as well as my own parents. After the ceremony they had hors d'oeuvres and a wine bar. We skipped out on the alcohol (having my first drink that evening probably would have been pretty ugly) obviously but the food was pretty amazing.
Shad quickly figured out that supplying raspberry jam and blankets is certainly not the only things Grandma Joy does well. Afterwards we headed to dinner at a chinese place and had a nice time visiting and relaxing. Shad had a terrific time directing traffic from the grass by the parking lot too, he was yelling, waving his arms, jumping, having a great time and looking hilarious.
When my dad graduated dental school he put his cap on my mom's head and told her something to the effect that it was her graduation too due to all the sacrifices she made to support him through it. They made sure to get a picture and talking about it makes my mom cry to this day. It was a small gesture that showed how much he appreciated her and understood what she had been through in those three years as well. Both my parents really wanted to recreate that picture with Dan and I. I think it was their way of saying they understood that as a married couple school is a joint effort.
Hopefully, this inspires Shad to start young and dream big. He's got big shoes to fill. 
The next evening we went out and had more of a celebratory dinner with all the adults in our families that were here but I will post that separately. We also both took the whole weekend off and went to the zoo, got out on our bikes, and spent A LOT of time both with and as a family. It was such a fun weekend and more relaxed than we have been in a long time now.
