Celebrating Dr. Kennedy

We have had a full three days of celebrating the new doctor! A few months ago in February, I wrote my post about Boomer's defense and the long journey that had led to that point. After his defense and the approval by the Graduate School, it was a strange few weeks of Boomer not having any work to do and waiting for the official conferral of his doctorate degree. His cap and gown came in the mail, and he received a letter stating that he had met all requirements. All that was left to do was walk across the stage. The festivities kicked off this past Thursday with the UNCG Graduate School Hooding Ceremony. The ceremony was on campus at the beautiful, historic UNCG Auditorium. We took a few selfies beforehand as Emmy and I hung out in the lobby and the rest of the gang was at our seats.  

When the music started to play and I saw Boomer walking down the aisle, I couldn't hold back a few tears. This degree represents so much hard work, perseverance, and sacrifice. Over the last eight years, Boomer has been a fulltime educator, a graduate student, and then Daddy, husband, son, uncle, and friend. (Add to that fantasy football enthusiast, umpire, Marvel fan, and occasional runner.) It would sound like a Dr. Seuss poem to say that he has written at the beach, he has written at the lake, he has written in the car; he has written near and far. His laptop has been a permanent accessory on every trip we have taken. I thought of all of these things as I saw him dressed in his regalia marching to the graduation music. During the ceremony, each of the new doctoral candidates were recognized as they walked across the stage and were hooded by their advisors. Boomer's advisor was Dr. Craig Peck. Dr. Peck worked closely with Boomer over the last three years to direct his writing, offer suggestions, and make edits before the final submission. Their common interests in educational policy made for a good match, and Boomer is very thankful to have had him for his advisor. 

 

After the ceremony, the new doctor posed for photos with his fan club. Boomer's littlest fan had a special sign for Daddy. 

Boomer with his advisor, Dr. Craig Peck

We celebrated with dinner at Village Tavern, and Zack and the boys were able to meet us there. The three cousins did really well, especially considering the restaurant was a bit fancier than our usual Chick Fil A! While at dinner, we saw the Causby family, long-time family friends from Morganton that were also celebrating a graduate. My mom has been friends with Martha Causby and Susan House for many years, and they have been prayer warriors for all the children growing up in our church. It was so nice to see them on such a special occasion. 

There were more celebrations on Friday, with Commencement in the morning at 10AM and the School of Education ceremony in the evening at 5:30PM. Much to his chagrin, it meant taking the day off work. Boomer was a good sport to participate in all the ceremonies. If it had been up to him, I'm not sure he would have done any of the graduation exercises, but I really wanted to formally celebrate this tremendous accomplishment. So you know the saying, happy wife, happy life! :) He acquiesced and suited up for Round 2 of graduation activities. We came up with the plan to go to the Commencement ceremony on our own, just the two of us, and then both sets of parents and Emmy would join us for the evening ceremony. After dropping Emmy off at daycare and grabbing a quick biscuit from McDonald's, we headed to Greensboro. Commencement was held in the Greensboro Coliseum, and it was a combined ceremony for all undergraduate and graduate students. The guest speaker was Dr. Ken Jeong, physician-turned-comedian who is most known for his roles in The Hangover, Crazy Rich Asians, and a few other blockbusters. After the ceremony, Boomer and I met back at the car and beat all the masses out of the parking lot. We went to lunch at one of Boomer's favorite burger joints, Hops. It was a delicious meal and the perfect way to cap off our graduation 'date.'  

Perhaps we were pictured out, because I did not take any photos from the evening School of Education ceremony, except for this one. 

Emmy did so well through both of the ceremonies on Thursday and Friday. It was a group effort for sure: Grammy packed lots of snacks; Granny wore a fun necklace that provided extra entertainment, and Aunt M took her to potty before and after the ceremony. We also colored and looked for Daddy in the crowd. I am hopeful that we will survive the plane ride next month to California for the #KennedyBallparkTour!

But wait, there's more! Boomer and Emmy were in our local paper, and then we had one more day of celebrations on Saturday with a joint Mother's Day and Graduation party in Star. Cathy decorated with balloons, and Bret made a cake that said "Dr. K". It had been since Christmas that all of the Kennedy kids and grandkids had been together - I know it made for a very special Mother's Day for my mother-in-law. 

Boomer's staff have been celebrating with him, too. I guess it is a sign of endearment when they make posters like this? :)

A few non-Graduation photos...it was Picture Day at Emmy's daycare, and Emmy's teacher sent me a few pictures of her posing beforehand. The pictures turned out considerably better than last year when Picture Day captured a grumpy Emmy on the Monday after Spring Break! I may have to buy them this year!