Rebel {with a cause}

Conrad staying up late to see Dad graduate!

All of the nerdy {hot} engineers together...graduating.

Dustin,

I remember when God molded your will to His. When you knew that being a philosophy major wouldn't do much for the kingdom of God (in your eyes), but rather, being able to filter water would become a more useful skill to know. I remember praying over you when you were discouraged (crying in my arms...) muddling through classes that scraped you down to your bones. I know how hard it was for you to work 40 hours at work and also spend your whole existence at the library for 30 hours, and also try to love on your pregnant wife. After 6 years of (dreadful) totally awesome schooling...that will shape you for years to come...

YOU GRADUATED!

remember when we got a loan for 20 THOUSAND dollars, and we BOTH lost our jobs in the same month?, and we BOTH blew through that 20 THOUSAND like it was nothin' trying to keep our heads above water??? That was crazy! Remember when I worked at the bank from 9-5 and then worked as a nanny from 6-10? That was nuts. But we pulled through. We were each others only friend for a good 3 years there. I was your sugar mama for a while and now you're my sugar daddy with your sweet ass benefits {dental-vision-and medical!! can I get a what-what!} Don't even play girl....

But seriously. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that YOU'RE DONE!

As I drove to your graduation with Conrad making his "destroyer" grunts in the back seat, I had tears in my eyes staring at the Thomas And Mack building in the distance knowing that I was about to watch you walk across that stage and graduate. I couldn't believe it was

FINALLY OVER.

The day you graduated was the second proudest moment of my life.

The first proudest moment was the day I kissed Conrad's face for the first time....

You really can't beat that.

I look back and remember you & I as two young kids who were embarking on this beautiful world ahead of them, excited for challenge, scared shit less, and ready for the task at hand. Conquering life. Eating Faustos burritos and foregoing dates until it made us crazy, replacing birthday gifts and Christmas gifts with corny love letters and cheap dinners. I treasure the struggle we've endured. I cherish the fancy complementary birthday dinners we've had (thanks to your Dad). I cherish our late night drives together to clear your brain with the music blaring and the long walks where we talked and processed life. Those are precious to me. I honor your ability to get through a degree in 3 years.

To me, You're a freaky, crazy-smart guy (who can do calculus and multiply and do long division...which is amazing because I can't do any of the above!) and I love you to pieces. I wish I had an ounce of your rationality and sensibility. I wouldn't get in as much trouble If I were more like you...

But mostly, the last few weeks, thinking about your accomplishments (big & small)

I'm just proud.

I get tears in my eyes because I know that at the core of my soul, you endured all of the crap (the teachers with seriously bad English...) for me and the Sea Biscuit.

I love you so much it hurts. Congratulations baby. One day you're going to clean a lot of water for people who really need it and make sure buildings are made right and change stuff in the world.

You are going to do great things