Tuesday, May 27, 2008

To Our Future - Evans/Montgomery Family

Rhoda Terry, Valerie Edmonson and Moi,
Celebrating Becky's earning a Masters Degree in Library Science,
from the University of Maryland
Becky earned her Masters in Library Science
from the University of Maryland
We are SO proud of her! 
This past week flew by like a dream sequence. The entire family's been planning for this occasion for quite a while, and to think that May 23rd, 2008, was finally here!
Rebecca earned a Masters Degree in Library Science.

It was so nice to celebrate the graduation of someone so dear to me. Rebecca, the first born child of my Aunt Arketia and LaRue,

graduated from the University of Maryland, on Friday, May 23rd.

We could say she was focused on education because her Aunt Gladys put a book under everyone's nose the second that any of us could lift our heads up(3-6 months old). Or, we could say it was because she spent many days out on campus at SFSU with her cousin(moi), who thought that Rebecca was her child, and loved her and her sister as such; it could have been her cousins Al-T & Valerie & Jimmy, who had driven them to school, helped with homework, and Jimmy who moved Becky from Dorm room to Apt., making sure that Becky knew that she could come and crash at their home when ever she wanted to. Or it was also Aunt Caroline and cousins Rechia, Rhonda and Rhoda, who picked them up as often as they could, and made sure that they spent Christmas Holidays with them. Kay-Kay, the baby girl of the family, and Rhoda's lovely daughter, makes everyone's heart happy - so Kay-Kay helped too. Malisa, Rebecca's baby sister, has a son named Brandon, and he too, made sure that Rebecca stayed on task - how? By loving his Auntie sooo much. Brandon and Malisa, you both made a difference.


I chose to believe it was a combination of all of the above - We are family!

It was the kind of occasion that made all of our hearts glad. We felt so blessed by Jehovah to gather together for a happy occasion.
I sat there and cried - again( I did the same when she earned her undergraduate degree from Morgan State Univ. 2 years earlier). Rebecca knows me so well until she knew that I'd been crying tears of joy. Why? Because she brings me and my family joy. There were three generations of us there, ranging from 5-65 years of age.
After the graduation, we had dinner at a fabulous restaurant called Clyde's of Columbia, MD. http://www.clydes.com/main/index.cfm No two Clyde's are the same; at the Clyde's of Columbia, MD., they have a room called the Library. It was perfect! Since Rebecca earned her Masters in Library Science, we reserved - you guessed it - the Library Room, where a party of 30 fit nicely!
Oh, it was so nice. Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Ernest drove up from Louisiana for the occasion, and loved the atmosphere.Quite a few of her co-workers showed up - I mean, her manager and at least 6 co-workers, and each had nothing but wonderful things to say about Rebecca's personality and work ethics. I held back the tears this time because we'd already embarrassed her enough by chanting our African Tribal cheer when we made a toast to her over dinner. Just think, 3 generations ago, our Grand Parents worked hard and paved the way for us, all of us. Their hands were rough so that we could have soft hands. So if you can, those of you reading this, take a moment and step back and assess how your parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins ( thanks Val and Jimmy for your hospitality) and those who are not physically related to you, have loved and nurtured you, and have made sacrifices and choices so that you could achieve more.
Then, after thanking God for who you are, give them a hand.