Daughter, Wife, Mom, Teacher: motivation

On Friday, Mac called and left a voice mail message sharing he'd passed his comprehensive exams, and he will be graduating in May with a master's in library science as planned. This is cause for celebration! Not because I had any doubts, but just because we can be certain it will happen.

On the way home I called him and left him a message telling how proud I was of him. (Eventually we did actually talk!)

A few moments after touching "end call" on my phone, I saw an Audi. One I hadn't seen since a few days after Mac left for Baton Rouge and graduate school in August of 2010.

Now remember, we live in suburban Chicago. So the first sighting of this LSU alum's car 20 months ago was a surprise and a comfort, and then Friday's glimpse of the same car in rush hour traffic--its purple and gold tiger eye fleur di lis so apparent as it turned to drive south--just made me smile due to the timing.

When I went into my facebook photos on Friday night to find the car photo, I found another that made me remember too. Just a few short days before Mac moved, we went to Brookfield Zoo with our friend Megan and her daughter Maeve. Maeve and Mac like each other a lot, and he spent a lot of time in "uncle" mode carrying her around and talking to her that day.

Megan said to me, "Wow, Maeve will be three when Mac graduates." Looking at her little one-year-oldness made that seem far away, but sure enough when I saw this photo Friday night:

I made note that Friday was also Maeve's third birthday. Again, the timing was so right. A little story told.

That's what motivates me this Monday. Full circle stories, happy endings that aren't really endings at all. Promises no one can be sure of. Blessings.