Pushing One Off Into the World

Last Sunday was Mother's Day, a perfect day for celebrating the gift of offspring. I spent the day focusing on the accomplishments of the one who first made me a mother - my oldest son, Bryce. We are so very proud of his achievements. He graduated from Purdue University with a degree in chemical engineering. Thankfully, we were all able to attend the commencement ceremony (his paternal grandmother, a Purdue graduate herself, would have loved to have attended with us if we could have secured an additional ticket - when we sung the Hail, Purdue song, I'm sure she would have misted up):

His additional trim (white and red ropes) indicates his involvement in the OXE chapter (he did a fine job as their president).

I had to chuckle at Trevor's antics. While we waited for the ceremony to begin, they displayed tweets and photos celebrating some of the graduates. Trevor attempted to jokingly get in on the fun. He leaned over to show his dad the tweet he had sent - a photo of our dog with the appropriate hashtag and the line "So proud of my brother, Toby." Of course, they must have had someone wisely screening what displayed on the screens - ha!

Bryce managed to take a photo with his girlfriend, Elizabeth, prior to her departure for home (she's a Purdue chemical engineering student, as well, but doesn't graduate until next year because she participated in a co-op program, working in a job this past semester):

Now, he is living at home for a few weeks (probably the last time he'll reside with us) before he heads off to his new job, working as a chemical engineer for Solvay (an international chemical group) at their Marietta, Ohio plant.