Graduation

I graduated High School in 2005.  Since then, I have gone through so much (as most people do in their college years): Sorority rush, loosing my grandmother, taking a break from school (and getting a job), living on my own, going through a bad breakup, dating my husband, getting into TCU, getting married and finally graduating!

I'm not going to lie.  I only applied to two schools.  My whole life I wanted to go to A&M.  I bled maroon.  Becoming an aggie was the only consistent dream in my life.  ...until I didn't get in.  I wasn't in the top 10% of my class, but my grades weren't bad - at least I didn't think so.  And I knew people who ranked lower than me (or certainly had grades worse than mine) that got in. But oh well, there I was.  I didn't want to go far from home - my grandmother was battling cancer and the thought of something happening and not being able to be there made me sick.  So on to Sam Houston State University it was.

I didn't know if I wanted to pledge, but I went through rush.  I ended up pledging Sigma Sigma Sigma - and I am still so glad I did.  It made all the difference in my time at Sam.  *To all my Sigma Sisters, SLAM!*

The next semester was a little insane.  I lost my grandmother and then I lost my direction in life.  Not that she WAS my direction, but losing her made me re-evaluate EVERYTHING.  I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.  I decided that I was sick of school.  I'd been doing nothing but school since I could remember and I was just tired of it all.  My grades were reflecting that.  I finally got the nerve to tell my parents that I wanted to take a semester off.  That went well, let me tell you (please note the great deal of sarcasm).  Now I must take a minute to tell you how incredibly blessed I am to have had my parents' emotional and financial support through school.  But, according to them, if I wasn't in school, the financial support wasn't there either.

After spending a summer as a counselor at Heart O' the Hills (the camp I attended as a young girl), I got a job and an apartment and started taking care of myself.  EVERYONE I talked to expressed their concern for me not being in school, and even after I explained that it was just a semester, they would go on to tell me how few people go back.  I never really understood why no one believed me, but I do understand their concern came from a place of love.  I stuck to my word and took a few classes at Kingwood College that spring while still maintaining my job and independent living situation.

The following fall, I went back to Sam.  As I mentioned earlier, my transcripts weren't stellar.  In Texas, we have the option to repeat a class and replace the grade on our transcript.  So I did just that.  For the next two semesters, I made the President's List and the Dean's List all three semesters I spent there.  For the first time in my life, I felt like I was actually smart.  You see, growing up, I never had the grades my brother did and I NEVER felt I could come close to achieving what he had.  At least not academically.  And here I was making the President's list!

Chad decided he wanted to go to fire school (in Rockwall) in the summer of 2009, so I started looking at schools in North Texas to see what there was and decide if I wanted to transfer.  I looked at SMU, UTD and TCU.  SMU never even returned my calls, so I never applied.  I was accepted to UTD and received a scholarship offer from them.

And then I got into TCU.

Up to that point in my life, this was my greatest accomplishment.  Even after classes began, I still wondered if I really belonged here (a feeling that would drastically change by the time I graduated).  It wasn't easy - that's for sure.  I didn't know it then, but over the next two and a half years, I would work harder than I ever had in my life.  I never made the President's List at TCU, but I learned more than I ever had - about the subjects I was studying and about myself. 

And then there was football.  I never attended a game at Sam.  I just never really was into it (and there wasn't really much to get 'into' anyway).  One of the last classes I took at Sam was a public speaking course.  One of our assignments was to give a persuasive speech and so I did mine on the BCS ...and why it sucks.  I will be the first to admit I got a lot of help from Chad on this one.  But this was the first time I really started to care.  I can't remember if I missed any games that first season, but I didn't miss a single one in 2010.  However, I have never been to a bowl game.  We missed the Fiesta Bowl because we were getting married a week later.  After that, we said if they EVER went to a bowl game again, we would BE THERE.  ...then my brother got married on Jan. 1 (for those of you not keeping track, that was the day TCU won the Rose Bowl).  SO, when we go to another bowl game, WE WILL BE THERE!  I mean it this time! :)  I've been to Tech, UT, and A&M games, but there's nothing I've experienced in my life like being at a TCU football game (particularly in the student section).  I'm sure it's the feeling anyone has when they sit in their school's stadium, but I like to think there's something special about TCU.

Speaking of "special," you'll probably hear from just about anyone who attended TCU that it's "a special place."  It's the campus.  It's the students.  It's the faculty and staff.  It's Fort Worth.  I could write a novel on this, but I think I've gotten my point across.  ...and I'm pretty sure you're ready to read about graduation!

Fast forward to the last day as a student at TCU - May 4th.  One of the things I love about TCU is that when we graduate, we get our actual diploma.  All seniors must take their finals and have grades in by the Wednesday before graduation so that they can make sure we actually passed - or we don't get to walk.  It was my last final.  Personal Selling was the class and Bob Akin was the professor.  Akin is one of the reasons I think TCU is such a special place and he is one of the greatest professors I will ever have in my life.  I remember a few of us stuck around after the final was over - just talking and whatnot.  While I was participating in the conversation, the main reason I stuck around was because I didn't want to leave.  Once I walked out of that building, it was over.  Everything I worked for over the last 6 years would be completed.  I don't know how long I stayed, but when I walked out the door, I literally felt this weight off my shoulder, and at the same time, began to cry a little.

Three days later, it was time to put on my purple robe, hat and shoes.  Just about everyone came up for my graduation - which meant more to me than any of them will ever know.  My maw maw and pap were there - 5 months after he had a really had stroke.  I actually didn't think they would come, but they did!  My grandaddy and his wife, Lois, came up and so did my Aunt, Uncle, and my cousins (and one of their boyfriends).  My in-laws came and two of my step siblings came as well.  The one that meant a lot to me was my sister-in-law.  She came in from Mississippi, leaving my brother alone with his studying and came with her mom.  Of course my parents were there.  All four of them!  Honestly, if it hadn't been for my mom, I don't know that Maw Maw and Pap would have made it.

 

We were missing one Aunt and her husband (they were moving), a cousin and her family (they live a LONG way away), a stepsister (who also lives a long way away), my brother (who was studying for his law school finals) and my grandmother. I know many of you who will read this never knew my grandmother and have no idea what she looked like.  She was an amazing person - always happy and a joy to be around.  She was also a master of Southern embellishment.  More than anything though, I think her greatest source of pride were her kids and her grand kids.  She would always introduce my brother as her "only grandson," and my cousin as "Jamie Maxine" (Maxcine was her name).  I like to think she would have told people her granddaughter went to Texas Christian University...  and that that would have made her proud.

That's one of the things I thought about as we waited in line to walk in.  That and that my feet really hurt.  It seemed like we stood there forever!  Finally, we stared to walk.  Down stairs, through halls, down more stairs, then finally onto the coliseum floor.

Most of you know I'm a little corny.  Over the year proceeding up to graduation, I would almost cry at the thought of it actually happening and any time I actually heard "Pomp and Circumstance," I would get overcome with emotion.  So as we're walking out of the tunnel, I expect to hear it - but they NEVER played it!  I was a little disappointed, I must admit.  We took our seats and waited.  The whole time I sat there, I tried to absorb everything that was happening.  I also thought about everything I had gone through since high school.  I thought about Chad and all the support he had given me over the past four years - and how I couldn't have done any of this without him.

As my row got up to receive our diplomas, I thought, "Here I am.  A girl who all but succeeded her first year of school.  And now I'm graduating - from TCU!"  And then it was done!

I refused to take pictures outside.  It was disgustingly hot (as it remained until TODAY).  We went straight to the White Elephant Saloon where we met up with my friends Melanie and Andrew, as well as my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for drinks and hors' d'oeuvres.  Then we headed over to The Lonesome Dove for dinner.  Oh my gosh it was so delicious!  I am a HUGE fan of Chef Tim Love (actually, I'm just a fan of amazing food, regardless of who prepared it) and if you ever find yourself this was of the Trinity River, you should try one of his restaurants (Love Shack is my absolute favorite burger place).

It was such a wonderful weekend and one I won't soon forget.  I am so blessed to have so many people in my life who not only love and support me, but actually wanted to be there for me.  A lot of people don't have that and I am so grateful for it all.

So here I am, writing this post and to my right is my diploma, sitting on the shelf!  Who knows what's next...

Thanks for reading!

God bless!

-Shelley

It's been a while.

See, I've tried to warn everyone how bad I am at posting to my blog.  I've never been good at things like that.  When I was a kid, I had several diaries I would keep for a few days, then never open for another five years. 

Since Chad is working tonight and A&M has all but won this game, I'm going to work on a few posts.  If I don't get them all done today, I'll finish them up in the next couple of days.  Here are the topics I'm hoping to touch on:  Graduation, Our trip to Baylor and just a general update on our family!

Talk to you soon!

-Shelley

6 Christmases, a graduation, and a wedding.

...and it all happened within TWO weeks!

WARNING: This is going to be a very long post...

Okay, I lied.  Two weeks and one day.  It all started with my step-brothers graduation.  I'm so proud of David!  He graduated with his MBA from the University of Houston in mid-December.  Chad and I drove down to Houston that day and met up with the rest of the family at Hofheinz Pavilion.  It's a little poetic because that's where everyone in my family (except me) had their graduation ceremonies from KHS.  Of course the year I graduated, they moved it to Reliant Stadium.  After the ceremony we went to the Flying Saucer where Maegan and I discovered the most amazing raspberry champagne-like drink.  Oh my gosh - YUM!

Of course this made me wonder if I want to continue my education past May ...and I still have no idea.  I think either way, I'm going to take at least a year to get some "real world" experience.  We'll see after that...

I didn't get any pictures I would consider "excellent," so this will have to do.  Also, I have to give a shout out to my best friend from high school who also graduated that same day.  Congratulations, Char!  She graduated with her Bachelor's from Texas State (and had a baby about 3 days later)!

Congratulations, David!

Since we were already in Houston, I decided to schedule Christmas for my mom's family that Saturday.  I didn't get a chance to see any of my side of the family over Thanksgiving so I was NOT going to let Christmas go by without seeing everyone.  We had a delicious dinner of dear steak, beans, homemade yeast rolls and a load of other stuff. 


Traditionally, we do fireworks at the Hon Christmas.  We usually stop on the way and buy a ton of them.  However, the lovely state of Texas has now made it illegal to sell fireworks before a certain date and our Christmas celebration fell before that date.  Enter Uncle C.D.  My brilliant uncle thought to get some extra during the 4th of July!  It wasn't a ton, but the four or five he brought were absolutely spectacular! 

That night, after we got home, we exchanged gifts between Mom, Glenn, Chad and I.  

Our Bonfire - with a hint of purple :)

 

Me and Maw Maw

My favorite!

This is probably really dangerous to do, but we threw the used shells into the fire - just look at the color!

Chad and me before opening presents!

As I mentioned earlier, we didn't see my family at all over Thanksgiving.  Chad and I try to flip-flop holidays as best we can so this year was Christmas with my family.  I'm not really sure what we'll do next year since "Christmas in Alaska" is in the plans...  Anyways, we had already decided my family would have "dibs" on Christmas plans this year.  

My brother-in-law's family has several pilots (including my brother-in-law) so we don't normally celebrate holidays on the actual day (since they have a 50/50 chance of flying) except this year.  Chad and I had already planned to go to the Brackin Christmas on Christmas Day, but I still wanted to at least do something small with Chad's family since we couldn't be there for their big celebration (they do things with both sides of the family at the same time).  Chad and I drove over to Chris and Earl's (my in-laws) house on Christmas Eve so we could do something early in the morning.  


Every Christmas, Chis makes this wonderful sausage cornbread on Christmas morning and I knew my husband's Christmas would not be complete without it.  I look forward to it myself!  Cheryl, Paul, and the kids came over and we quickly opened presents and then went to see Chad's grandpa before heading to Houston.  (Sorry...no pictures)


Chad and I drove straight to my Aunt Sharon's house (Baytown-ish area) for the Brackin Family Christmas.  My Aunt (with the help of my cousins and probably my uncle as well) made all of Grandmother's traditional dishes.  Cornbread Dressing, Poppy Seed Dressing, Deviled Eggs, and the most delicious turkey I have ever had in my life.  YUM!  And yes, all of those things are proper nouns in my book and warrant capitalization.


In the last few years, we have been blessed to have some of the extended family join us.  I LOVE this because my Uncle Billy plays the piano really well and he plays while the rest of us try to sing.  Another new tradition we have is donating our time/money to help someone less fortunate have a better life/Christmas rather than exchanging gifts.  This started after we lost Grandmother in April 2005.  We all sit in a circle and share who/what we gave to.  Unfortunately we didn't get around to the board games this year, but there is always next year!  (again, no pictures...sorry).


After that Brackin Christmas, we all met up (sans Maegan and Travis) at Dad and Julie's apartment for our family Christmas.  I got a lovely scarf from Meredith (it's purple and white - perfect!), Groupons from Courtney (she won the award for most creative), and a Saint Arnold's apron from David (it's purple, too).  From Dad and Julie (and to each other), Chad and I bought a new T.V.  We went from a 32" Westinghouse that was more than a few years old and starting to spaz to a 47" LED Vizio.  Chad is in love.  I am, too - but I think he's a little more excited over it all - ha!

Before.

After.

The day after Christmas we all went to my Aunt Penne's house for the Weidig Christmas.  I love this Christmas because every year we do a white elephant gift exchange.  



Okay then.  So Chad wanted to find an Obama Chi Pet for the exchange.  Turns out  those are not easy to find in Texas. However, while we were at Walgreen's, he spotted Booty Pop.  These ended up being one of the funnier items of the night - especially when my very fashion-conscious Aunt Penne put them on over her jeans! We didn't say too long afterwards because Chad had to be at work at 9:00 the next morning - so back to Fort Worth we went (again, no pictures....again, sorry).


So all the while, my brother's wedding is fast approaching.  With school and everything, I did not have time to go dress shopping.  I found a dress before Christmas, but I had to go back  to Northpark to have it altered.  After leaving the mall, I called Chris to let her know I was on my way to pick up Little Miss Emma (they had been keeping her while we went to Houston for Christmas).  With sadness in her voice, Chris responded, "Oh, alright."  After discussing it briefly, we decided that Emma would just stay there for the week (we would be dropping her off on Wednesday for the wedding weekend anyways).

A "just because" picture

On Thursday morning (the 30th if you're keeping track), Chad and I woke up early to drive down to Houston for the Bachelor Party.  I dropped Chad off at the gun range with the other guys and then I went to spend the day/night with the Marty's.  The Marty girls were the flower girls at our wedding, if you'll remember.  They are moving to AUSTRALIA in mid-January!  The girls are so excited about the move, which I'm glad about.  We spent the afternoon going through all the stuff Debbie has stocked up on and going to Chuy's (my favorite) for dinner.  We stayed up way too late, but I wouldn't trade  one second for anything.  Debbie and I cried our eyes out over pancakes the next morning before I went to pick up Chad and head to Tyler.

Love these girls!

Love this family!

Alright.  We've made it to the last 48 hours.  The wedding.  New Years Eve was the rehearsal.  After arriving in Tyler and fixing Chad's tux (the jacket was four sizes too big and his pants ended up not matching the jacket), we all met at the church.  They ran through everything twice and then headed to the rehearsal dinner.  My parents had planned a marvelous party for the rehearsal and NYE.  Around 10:15, we had fireworks out on the patio and celebrated midnight with New York (since Travis and Maegan couldn't see each other on their wedding day)!

Chad and me before heading to the rehearsal.

Fun with hats...

This one pretty much sums up the night.

Happy New Year!

The following day was the wedding (obviously).  It was a beautiful ceremony and a fabulous reception!  I wish I had more time to spend with Maegan - she was absolutely beautiful!

There are very few people I would miss the rose bowl for.  They were two.

 

Congratulations, Mr & Mrs. Brackin!

All in all, within two weeks, we made 3 trips to Houston, 1 trip to Tyler, 2 trips to Frisco, and 3 trips to Dallas and back.  I. Am. Done. Driving.  However, I wouldn't trade anything.  ...okay...maybe a few things, but I'm glad I got to see everyone and spend quality time!  Love you all!

Oh yeah...

GO FROGS!

Love,
Shell