{pretty, happy, funny, real} Alex is a college graduate!

| a weekly capturing of contentment in everyday life |

A few photos to practice contentment this week (aka, an update in this Season of Fortunate Events).

| pretty |

The Rainbow

Houston weather is infamously horrible.  We got all ends of the precipitation spectrum, with the only consistent thing being the wilting HUMIDITY.  All day Friday, the students wondered if the Undergraduate Convocation would get moved inside because of forecasted rain.  Not being much of an athletic school, Rice does not have a large indoor stadium, so moving inside meant only 2 guests per graduate.  So - in theory - it was a relief when we got the final word that the ceremony would remain outside in the Academic Quadrangle (which my daughters persist is just a precocious word for "square".)  However, sitting in a decent downpour for an hour is a bit dicey. We crowded under our umbrella, trying not to entangle ourselves in the umbrellas of passers-by.  The school handed out torn rags - one per guest - to dry off our folding chairs.  

And then - as if someone had calculated it - the rain let up just moments before the ceremony.  Our reward was the stunning rainbow arching over the corner of the Quad.  We all  oohed and ahhed while folding up our umbrellas.  A beautiful beginning to a weekend of celebration.

| happy | 

Alex Graduates!

I'm not sure how to articulate our gratitude for the opportunity Alex was given at Rice University.  In the Northeast, we'd never heard of this excellent school. Had we not moved to Austin just before Alex's senior year of high school, we probably never would have considered this for him.  (He also would never have met his amazing wife, Rebekah, whom he met in his high school senior year Economics class.)  

When I asked Alex what he would list as some of the best reasons for a student to attend a school he included the complete diversity of the student body, the residential college system (which has so many wonderful benefits), and the beauty of the campus.  As Alex's parents, we would include the "need blind" system of admission in which students are accepted on merit without regard for financial ability.  We are grateful to all those who have built into Rice's endowments over the years so that our son could benefit.

Alex graduated summa cum laude (which required him to be in top 5% of his college) with a major in Political Science.  He is still determining the focus he hopes to apply from this degree, and in the meantime has been accepted by Teach for America for a two-year commitment.  He's been hired by a charter school in Forth Worth and will be teaching high school English.  We are grateful, humbled by God's provision, and proud of Alex's consistent passion for learning and hard, discipline work as a scholar.

| funny | 

Outtakes

1.  THE HEAT!  Saturday morning's Commencement (university-wide) began at 8:30 AM - ostensibly to beat the heat.  I have never, and I mean that literally, never sat through such bright, hot sun for so long a time.  Our family joke from this event will be about the well-intentioned, highly-credentialed commencement speaker standing at her well-shaded podium talking to us for close to an hour about EMPATHY.   We really wished she'd looked out at all of us using our programs to provide shade in every conceivable way, and thought "Huh.  Why don't I MODEL EMPATHY by cutting this speech short?"  

2 & 3.  Our Alex (and his magnificent dog, Sully)

 

| real |

No caption needed

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