Congratulations Lee

Several years ago Lee got laid off from his job as a cable guy. He looked for a job for several months, but was having trouble finding something that paid anywhere close to his previous salary. And we had three kids in daycare…costing us close to $300 a week in daycare expenses. After a while we started to talk about him staying home with the kids. We weighed the pros and the cons and then the Monday after Caleb’s 1st birthday Lee started his new job…as a stay-at-home dad.

It worked our really well. Sure we missed his income. But we also weren’t forking over $1200 a month in daycare and we weren’t spending tons of money on gasoline for his truck (he was a contractor for the cable company so he drove his own truck to jobs). And as each of the kids started school and started after-school activities Lee was there after school to get them where they needed to be.

Lee wasn’t content on just being home all day. He needed something else to do as well. So he decided to go to college. It had been more than 15 years since Lee was in school so he was a little worried about how well it would go. But, even when he was faced with the dreaded, evil college math courses, he stuck with it. Even when he thought school would never end and he just wanted to quit, he stuck with it.

In January Lee registered for the last two classes required for his degree. He could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. But then he got a surprise. A bad surprise. They were cancelling one of his classes.

He tried to get in touch with his advisor, who was also the instructor for this class, to see what could be done. We were hoping they would just wave the class or at least let him take it independent study. Instead he was told the class would be offered again during the summer and he could take it then. I think I was even more ticked off than Lee. He only needed around 60 credit hours for his degree and, because of that evil math class he had to retake and a few extra classes he took to get a couple of certificates, he already had over 80 credit hours. But this class was required.

So Lee registered for the class for this summer.

Last Thursday he decided to give it one last ditch effort to get the class waived. When he found his advisor the guy said, “You just saved me a phone call. We’re cancelling that class this summer.”

YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Lee was livid, but remained calm. He explained that he already has 84 credit hours and since he’s been going part-time and been in school for several years, surely he’s taken something that is equivalent to this last class. His advisor said he’d have to make some calls and he’d let him know.

A couple hours later, his advisor called and said, “We’re waiving that class. Congratulations, you’re a graduate. We’ll see you at graduation.”

Well graduation was in two days. That didn’t give us a lot of time to get a cap and gown. Or let family know.

But I sent an email out to everybody and Lee got a cap and gown from the school bookstore.

Saturday morning we got up early to head to commencement to cheer Lee on.

I had to fight back tears the whole time. I was (and still am) so proud of him. All of his hard work finally paid off.

Lee was raised by his grandmother, who also raised her own 7 kids. Only one of those kids graduated from high school. So it was a big deal when Lee graduated from high school. And Lee is the first in his family to graduate from college. That’s a pretty amazing accomplishment. I just wish his grandmother could have been here to see him walk across the stage, shake the president’s hand, and receive his diploma. But I know she is up in heaven smiling down on Lee. I know how proud she is of him.

And with all his hard work, Lee has been such a great role model to the kids. All five of his kids got to watch him receive his diploma. They got to see him move his tassel from the right to the left. They got to celebrate his big day.

Congratulations Lee!

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