{"id":6117,"date":"2017-06-11T04:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-06-11T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=6117"},"modified":"2017-06-09T12:53:22","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T19:53:22","slug":"graduation-2017-and-my-granddaughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/family\/graduation-2017-and-my-granddaughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduation 2017 and my Granddaughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A Completion and a Beginning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of life is just day after day\u2014the rising and setting of the sun, the turning of the seasons. One day blending into another.<\/p>\n

But then, there are the milestones, those events that mark a new phase in one\u2019s life: the birth of a child, a marriage, the death of a loved one \u2026 and yes, the completion of one\u2019s studies in high school or college.<\/p>\n

For each of those events we have ceremonies. Our families and friends show up. They congratulate us and bring us gifts or cards.<\/p>\n

This past Tuesday my granddaughter graduated from college. By the time I deplaned in Newark to witness her achievement, she\u2019d already completed her finals and submitted her senior thesis. She\u2019d spent days hugging her friends and saying teary goodbyes. She\u2019d packed her boxes and suitcases. And she\u2019d earned the credits and grades to graduate from Princeton University with high honors with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It was definitely a completion worth celebrating. And we did.<\/p>\n

Then, the next day, we all flew away, and we left her alone to construct a new life for herself.<\/p>\n

On my plane ride back to Seattle, I imagined her sitting at the dining room table in shorts and a T-shirt. She presses her lips together and opens her laptop. Pausing for a moment, she hesitates because whatever she does next has personal, real-world consequences. Then she takes a deep breath and begins a Google search for her first post-college job.<\/p>\n

What it will be and where it will take her, no one knows. But this week as she begins her new beginning, I send her all my love.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWherever you go, go with all your heart.\u201d \u2014Confucius<\/p>\n

\n

A personal note:<\/p>\n

The weather at graduation was too cool and wet for my new dress. Sometimes, I guess, it doesn’t help to plan ahead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now I need another event.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Completion and a Beginning. Most of life is just day after day\u2014the rising and setting of the sun, the turning of the seasons. One day blending into another. But then, there are the milestones, those events that mark a new phase in one\u2019s life: the birth of a child, a marriage, the death of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[1559,1560,1562,1561,1563],"class_list":["post-6117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","tag-graduation","tag-granddaughters-graduation","tag-milestones","tag-princeton-graduation-2017","tag-starting-a-new-life-after-graduation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-1AF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7713,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/family\/graduations-meaningful-ceremonies-or-no-big-deal\/","url_meta":{"origin":6117,"position":0},"title":"Graduations–Meaningful Ceremonies or No Big Deal?","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"May 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"When our son-in-law finished his doctorate, my husband and I packed our bags and prepared to fly down to Berkeley to attend the graduation ceremony. D would be the first person I knew (excluding medical doctors) to earn a doctorate. To me, it seemed like a big deal. D didn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Princeton-graduation-R-001-e1558551186910.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3064,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/christmas\/3064\/","url_meta":{"origin":6117,"position":1},"title":"A Christmas Card with a Surprise inside","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"December 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0One of the first Christmas cards I received this year was from Mary, my roommate from college. Mary and I met going into our junior year at Seattle University. We\u2019d both signed up to be Junior Advisors at Marycrest Hall, the freshman girls\u2019 dorm. (And yes, we were \u201cgirls\u201d in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christmas"","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Christmas card from Mary","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Christmas-card-001-e1418675542794.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Christmas-card-001-e1418675542794.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Christmas-card-001-e1418675542794.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3665,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/culture\/turning-points\/","url_meta":{"origin":6117,"position":2},"title":"TURNING POINTS","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"June 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On the last day of May my grandson graduated from high school. It was a majestic ceremony. The graduates, following a 112-year-old tradition, wore tuxedos and long white gowns. Each of the girls carried eighteen red roses. The choir sang, speeches were given, and diplomas were presented to all 102\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"graduation","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/graduation-e1433618490318.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7743,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/graduation\/other-scenes-from-graduation\/","url_meta":{"origin":6117,"position":3},"title":"Alternative Scenes from a Graduation","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"June 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It wasn't a graduation that lent itself to picture taking. With the Commencement ceremony taking place on the lawn with no risers, with 1282 seniors and 562 graduate students graduating, each of them able to invite five guests, it was impossible to see much of anything. I assumed the students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "graduation"","block_context":{"text":"graduation","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/graduation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_1649-e1559862288117.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6188,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/family\/iris-varieties-which-is-your-favorite\/","url_meta":{"origin":6117,"position":4},"title":"Iris varieties. Which Is Your Favorite?","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"June 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"During my trip back East to celebrate my granddaughter's college graduation, I stayed with her other grandparents for a few days. Ever since my daughter and their son became engaged, we've been friends, so it was nice to spend some time with them. The afternoon before graduation the other grandma\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_2448-e1496976819949.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2457,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/how-i-met-my-husband-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":6117,"position":5},"title":"How I Met My Husband, Part 2","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"September 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 My late husband Eugene and I were born on opposite sides of the world. The journey from Gulangyu, China, to Sedro-Woolley, WA, where we met was a long one: 6168 miles, not half-way around the world, but still a very long distance. In part 1, I tell of his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/china\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eugene after judo class","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Eugene-after-judo-class-e1408991596916.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6117"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6167,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6117\/revisions\/6167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}