Phoenix.

My mom has been acquiring her Master's degree, in Nursing Education, for the past eighteen months and today, as well as tomorrow, will be the conclusion of her journey. She has compiled hundreds of work hours, whether it is doing papers or making presentations. She has been getting her degree online through Grand Canyon University, which is in Phoenix, Arizona. So as I am typing this blog, I am sitting in my hotel room in the midst of Phoenix.

My mom and my stepdad left for Phoenix on Sunday morning, while my brother and I flew out this morning. Today has been an incredibly long day. It started at 4am. Yes, I said four in the morning. After getting myself upright and taking a shower, my brother and I left his Seattle home at around five. We arrived at the airport at around 5:30. Security was annoying as usual, but our plane did not leave until 7:20 and we were in no rush. After we got through security, we both grabbed some food. Who would have thought that Qdoba would have delicious breakfast burritos? I kept mine simple with scrambled eggs, potatoes, some chicken, and some queso cheese sauce. DELICIOUS!. As we headed up to the gate, I saw two of my teammates standing in front of me. Turns out, they were heading down to San Diego.

The plane ride was essentially smooth, considering that I slept through the majority of it. I didn't mind. We arrived in Phoenix just shy of nine and were immediately reunited with my mom and sister (she flew down from Pullman on Wednesday morning). We then drove to the hotel, where we dropped off our luggage, and then drove right to the church where the ceremony was being held.

The church was not only beautiful on the outside, it was massive on the inside as well. It looked like a church that one would find on early-morning televised church services. Anyways, we got there at around 11:40 and the ceremony did not start till one, so my sister and I decided to take a walk around the church, letting our bodies radiate in the 95+ degree temperatures. The ceremony was similar to any commencement ceremony: the deans gave speeches, the graduates were presented with their "degrees" and everyone was tearing up. I will be the first to admit that my eyes were tearing up throughout the WHOLE ceremony. I don't know why, but I was very emotional. It could be because I have seen my Mom work so hard for the past year and a half, that I was genuinely proud of her. It was moments like those where I am glad to be her son. I just hope that one day, she is the one saying that about me.