What a long strange trip it's been

Tomorrow is UNCG's graduation. But my graduate won't be there. He doesn't care, really, about the walk. He did that for one of his graduations, but more for his parents than for himself. No, he doesn't care about that stuff. All he cares about right now is being done. It was a long haul. In more ways than one.

You see, even though his first bachelor's degree was in English, Physical Education was where his heart was. So a few years down the line he got a coveted PE degree at San Diego State. He really wanted to go through the graduate program there but San Diego was an expensive city to live in and we had begun to feel closed in with all the freeways and buildings around for miles. It was time for a change.

We decided on a route through the southwest, up to Montana where we would visit my brother, into the Pacific Northwest and back down the coast, and from that trip we would choose our next home. I wanted to go clockwise on that route; Ed wanted to go counter-clockwise. We did what any normal couple would do when deciding where to live next - flipped a coin. Ed won. At the time we were driving his brother's VW bus; we left our Ghia in San Diego. Going across the desert the bus began to have problems. It really faltered in the Arizona mountains. Jerome. Finally we made it to Albuquerque and decided the bus would go no more. That's how we ended up in the Duke City.

The next few years were spent at UNM - Ed getting his teaching credentials and me my BAFA, living in the student ghetto, collecting cats, enjoying the desert. We visited Native American ruins, got hooked on green chile, knew when it was September 1 without looking at a calendar because the chile roasters would be out all over town - on every street corner it seemed - with that unmistakable aroma wafting in the air. We finished at UNM in '91 and then were in search of the next place.

Ed went to the job fairs and applied to I don't know how many school districts, more marketable with 2 degrees, right? But it was a middle school English position that took us to Raton, New Mexico. Not really where we would have thought we'd end up but it was the best of offers. After living in large to super-large cities, Raton was quite an experience. We lived there for 6 months and then moved over the pass to Trinidad, Colorado while Ed taught middle school English in a school system that was still back in the 50s and 60s. He was able to teach one PE class but it wasn't a promising situation. Coaching helped him stay in touch with physical education. Life in Trinidad was better than Raton but the town was still so small and countrified I'm not sure how we lasted there 3 years. There was the time Ed was running by the railroad tracks and was threatened by a dog who charged at him out of the yard. Ed picked up a stick to defend himself and the owner came after Ed, threatening to shoot him. And the time I was running and someone followed me in a truck, then finally drove up beside me to ask what I was doing, why was I running, who was chasing me? But I digress. This blog isn't called "ramblings of a dome-estic" for nothing, you know.

Next stop, Grand Junction. Ed had applied for both Language Arts and PE again but PE is far more competitive - read: fewer jobs - so another Language Arts position was in the cards. Grand Junction, as funky as it is, was good to us. The hiking was fabulous, the scenery way cool. Ed loved the school where he taught and the teachers there but, after years went by with no chance of moving to the PE Department, was just getting burnt out. Again, coaching helped stay in physical education but it just wasn't enough. I loved the job I had but wanted to be closer to family. So after 10 years, the longest we'd ever stayed in one place, we left Colorado for the east.

Raleigh. South Raleigh. Inner city school with lock-downs and warnings to not stay after dark or go there on weekends. Try teaching Language Arts to those kids. Ed's fondest memory there was answering a kid's random question and the kid said, "Mr. Migues, how can you stand to be so smart?" He stuck it out for one year but quit without another job on the horizon. Another round of applications out, to counties to the west. We knew we didn't want to live in Raleigh. (Have I ever told you how glad I am...) Inside joke.

That August we kept with plans to go back to Colorado to climb 14ers for my 50th birthday but hadn't counted on him still looking for a job. We checked email from coffee shops to see if there were any leads. One day, there was. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, one of the best places to teach in the country. Highly rated, good pay (for a teacher). He got an interview set up for the day after we got home, already into the first work week for teachers. By this time Ed had pretty much given up on a PE job and assumed the interview would be for Language Arts. Not! It was THE job. What a happy camper he was. Shorts and t-shirts all year round, playing like a kid. Dream job. PE.

And, so, one year after he got that dream job, at a time when many folks our age are thinking of retirement, he went back to school for that graduate degree he had his sights set on 20 years before.

End of story? Nope. Not yet - hang on. During all that time - 4 and a half years - he struggled to find classes that he could take while still teaching and coaching, drove to Greensboro sometimes 3 evenings a week, learned how to be a student again (technology sure did change for a college student!), helped me the best he could with remodeling projects I sunk into and then - the dome. Ah, word to the wise, don't mix a grad degree and building an unconventional building in the same family at the same time.

So now, he's done. And all he cares about is that. He can read what he wants, will be able to coach more, sink into his teaching not having to write papers, read a zillion pages of readings assigned, and then plan for classes and grade until midnight. He's done. But he doesn't care about the walk.

He will kill me, of course, for this post. He doesn't want all this stuff spread around. But I'm proud of him so I do.

Congratulations, babe. I have been so impressed with all you've accomplished. You done good. Love.