Another Graduate in the Family

Bill officially finished the last class of his bachelors degree in August of this year. It was fabulous! BS in Business Management completed. No more b.s.! Except that now he wants to get the Human Resource Certificate to go along with it. Fine, fine. That's what he really wants to do, so be it. He's back in school, taking 4 more classes and almost finished with the first one.

But here's what he looked like the day his diploma came in the mail:

I think he said something like, "that's right baby!"

Is he the oldest graduate I know? Well, I'm not sure. My dad was pretty old when he got his degree and I know I went to school with some cronies, but I don't know that they graduated. Way to go babe! We're all so proud. And in case anyone wonders what took him so long, let's look at everything he's done since his graduation from high school... (drum roll please)...

• moved to New York with his parents, stayed for one winter, hated it, moved back to Scottsdale to live with his best friend Larry
• started school at SCC, worked at Prestige Cleaners, used a motorcycle to commute
• BAM! Run over by a Jaguar, remembers being cold and waking up in an ambulance
• in intensive care for 2 weeks, the hospital for a month total, and 12 months of rehab only to find out that the hurt leg healed 2 1/2 inches shorter than the other one
  
• surgery on the good leg (to shorten it), 12 MORE months of rehab and the good leg hurts more now that the bad one ever did
  
• started working for Paul's Hardware in Scottsdale, took a few classes now that his legs were healed, quit school, started again, yada yada yada
  
• imported to New Jersey to get married to the wrong woman
  
• watched the C-Section birth of his first (and only) son, and fell in love for the first time


• helped re-merchandise a new store in Tempe that Paul's bought out, wore goofy overalls and completely ignored a totally hot redhead that worked there


• got a divorce, raised his son on his own for a year


• helped organized a co-ed benefit softball team with above mentioned redhead, started calling her constantly whenever he needed anything from the Tempe store, got hit in the shin by a softball she hit, started bowling on a team with her, and sabotaged her relationship with another man


• courted and married the most wonderful woman he will ever know and love


• left Scottsdale to live in the fabulous city of Tempe!


• became manager of the Paul's Hardware store in Gilbert


• watched the delivery of his first daughter, wouldn't cut the cord, and fell in love all over again


• transferred to Paul's hardware in Fountain Hills, hated the commute and the people, ended up getting fired from the company all together after 13 years


• became the "highest paid carpet cleaner in Arizona" (that's according to his friend and boss)


• got baptized, then sealed to his wife and child a year later


• tired of the long hours and missing his family he hurt his back on a MOTORCYCLE (duh!)and had to quit the carpet business


• thanks to a great friend and a sad mishap for him, started work at Scottsdale Shea Hospital, 2nd shift


• drove like a mad man to the hospital with his wife in labor, shushed his wife while in the delivery room and she was screaming in pain, immediately felt remorse, watched the delivery of his second daughter, cut the cord, and fell in love all over again


• switched to the first shift at the hospital


• started back to school after a lot of nagging by his wife and encouragement by his parents


• lost his mom to cancer, watched his youngest daughter turn a year old the following week


• was hired on at the University of Phoenix by a classmate, made more money, and better hours with a shorter commute


• was traded to another "team" at work for an employee to be named later, and cash


• had a short stint saving the earth by riding the bus to work, but had to switch to carpooling to get his daughter to school in the morning


• has become known as the "It's Friday Guy" at work, if you want to know what that sounds like, call him at 9:30 am on Friday.


• GRADUATED!!!

SOOOOOOOO, if you've made it this far you are now invited to celebrate with us! He walks THIS Saturday (Novemeber 8th) at 10am and we plan on having a lunch, at our house, around 2pm. RSVP by comment, phone call, or email. No worries if you can't make it!