Last Thursday evening, 8 May, I attended my mother's pinning ceremony for the Practical Nursing Program at Hutchinson Community College, followed by graduation on Friday evening. As I sat in the chilly auditorium at McPherson College, I was so proud of her. She's worked so hard over the years to get to this point -- CNA when I was in high school, CMA when I too attended HCC, now to LPN. She already has a job lined up (had even before graduation), which is pretty amazing in and of itself considering the lousy economy in the US right now. What I thought was the most adorable and amusing was how proud she was of herself. I don't think the smile left her face from the time she picked up my brother Paul and me Thursday afternoon until sometime after graduation Friday night. She's totally justified. The program is an accelerated ten months that she began in the Fall of 2001. A setback in the Spring semester meant she had to wait until this Spring to complete the program. I know that setback really affected her confidence, though she tried not to let on to Paul and me.

During the pinning, the coordinator of the program put up a picture of the pin they would receive, going through each aspect of its appearance and what it represented. I don't remember everything she said, but I do remember the words "courage" and "heart." These characteristics were reemphasized by the keynote speaker, a local McPherson doctor who had been one of the class's rotations. He talked about how LPNs are indispensible in the medical field, but how they also have the hardest job of all. They're the ones who spend the most time with the patients and have the most influence in their care. I've watched my mom interact with the patients in the nursing homes in which she's worked over the years, and I know that she affects everyone she touches. When most CNAs just want to get in and get the resident to the lunchroom or the shower or the activity period, Mom never fails to hold a hand or ask about family or just chat with the resident. She treats them as though they are human beings, and that's a lot in my opinion.

Congratulations, Mom! I love you, and I'm insanely proud of you!

On another note, I took my one and only "final" exam yesterday. I shouldn't have procrastinated as much as I did where studying was concerned, but it's water under the bridge and there's nothing I can do about it now. I don't think I failed it by ANY stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't up to my usual high standard of excellence. Now I have more time than I know what to do with, and it always takes me a week or two to figure it out. I get up in the morning and think, "What homework or reading do I have to do today," and it honestly takes me a couple of minutes to realize I can read anything on my bookshelves I damn well please. Today, weather permitting, I'm having lunch with a friend, and then I think I'll come home and either start on the book for my book club or watch some shows I have on tape and haven't had the time to watch. I'm already in a TV-watching mode (just finished watching The Sentinel on the SciFi Channel), so I may continue in that vein. Hell, I may even watch the two episodes of Stargate SG-1 that are on tonight, even though the chances are good I've seen them already. Who knows? Doesn't really matter, because I'M DONE WITH FINALS!