My Mangled Meanderings: Congratulations Wil '06!

Wil graduated from Texas A&M on Saturday, May 13, at 9:00 a.m. It was an early morning for all who attended. I left Wylie at 5:00 to get there in time. Lorne stayed home with Sawyer since it would have been a very long day for him if we had brought him. We tossed around the idea of getting a hotel for Friday night but decided this would probably work out for the best for Sawyer in the long run. I actually enjoyed my time alone on the drive down. I couldn't believe this was my fifth A&M graduation.

Wil graduated Magna Cum Laude (I believe) with a Bachelor's in Civil Engineering. He was nominated and/or received numerous awards including University and Foundation Honors, the Brown Foundation-Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award, and was an Undergraduate Fellow. He wore the yellow honor stole which included three separate patches for his various awards. It was a great day and I was so happy that I was able to be in attendance.

I found myself daydreaming about my own A&M graduation day. It was hard to believe that it had been almost seven years to the day since I graduated. I remember marching onto that same arena floor, sitting in the same seats, walking across the same stage, and meeting my family afterwards in that same corridor. Lorne hugged me once we met and said, "You're all mine now." That is a day that I will not soon forget. We always said Aggie rings before wedding rings and my dream had become a reality. I was a college graduate! It may be the same exact ceremony for thousands of Aggies, but the experience and the memories are as unique as the graduates themselves.

OK, back to Wil... :) We had lunch at Rudy's BBQ after the ceremony. Dawn and Philip left the ceremony early so they met us there. Mom and I got there a little late because I took the scenic route. You would think I could find my way around College Station after living there for four years but I guess not!

Wil is interning in Dallas over the summer. He was telling me how it will be his first time to live in a real "city." I laughed and agreed. I remember thinking that College Station was a pretty big city, but Court was from Houston and Mel was close to Austin so it was much smaller for them. I figured any place with more than one stop light was a step up for me.

I am hoping that he will call us while he is in town so that we can either meet him for dinner or have him over. He is attending UT in the fall to begin his Masters. We got him maps for his gift. Lorne received a map of Dallas from Aunt Net when he graduated and he still remembers that as a great gift. We thought we'd do the same for Wil. When he saw the box he said, "No one gives actual gifts anymore!" I got to thinking about it and he's right. I know that I'm guilty of giving gift cards or just cash nine times out of ten.