Rewind<= (Part I)

It's May 2002. My son, then 9 years old, was as the end of six months of recovering from being hit by car. My brother-in-law, Dan, was getting ready to graduate from San Jose State. I had a decent job with Tulare County Health and Human Services. But it was basically a dead-end job. I looked around one day and realized, many of my co-workers had been there their entire adult lives, working at these dead-end jobs. This wasn't a place that fostered careers; it fostered paychecks. No one that I worked with particularly liked their jobs. And why would they? It was routine and boring. Mundane. The same-ole' same ole', day after day after miserable day. Have I made my point?

So, I asked myself, "Self, in five, or 10, or God forbid, even 20 years from now, is this where you want to be?" And myself answered, "NO!"

Just before we made the trip to San Jose I was talking to my dad about Dan's upcoming graduation. Dad said, "I sure would like to see you graduate from college some day." [A side note: both of my sisters have their college educations.] I responded to Dad with something along the lines of, "yea, yea, me too," not taking his 'wish' very much to heart.

Then, graduation day arrived. It's a beautiful, sunny day and commencement is being held outdoors at the stadium. We're sitting in the end zone, close to the field. It's rather exciting and I'm taking in all of the hustle and bustle, the comings and goings of the many graduates. Suddenly, a woman from the field approaches the end zone. She is in her cap and gown. A man and a small child rush down from where they are sitting to meet her. The woman, I'm guessing, is in her thirties. And from their interaction, I determined it's her husband and daughter she's talking to. And folks, I've gotta tell ya, that's when it all came together. It was like being hit over the head with a two-by-four. I wanted to be that woman. I wanted to go back to school.