The Master of Library and Information Science

Master degrees are beginning to run in my family.  Not that I have one, mind you, but two of my favourite people do.

Joe graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Math (Statistics) from the University of Washington in 1990.

Why did eyeglasses in the late '80s need to cover half a person's face, I ask you?

A happy graduate with his little family in 1990.  Who knew then that Molly (far left) would follow in her father's footsteps 24 years later? 

This past week we celebrated with Molly as she realized a long held dream of hers; to earn a master degree and become a librarian.

Joe and I flew to Toronto late on Tuesday night and drove with Molly and one of her BFFs Robin through the wee hours of the morning to London, Ontario.  We arrived in London at 3:00am, a little worse for wear, but very excited.

"We love it that we are only going to get 4 hours of sleep before Molly's big day tomorrow!"

After a 7:00am wake-up call, we beautified ourselves and headed over to the University of Western Ontario's gorgeous campus.

Ivy league y'all.

The convocation ceremony was beautiful.  It was held in a lovely venue, the few speeches that were given were heartfelt and inspiring, each graduate knelt before the chancellor to be 'hooded' by a professor and it was over in an hour and a half!  My kind of ceremony.

Molly (centre) kneeling in front of the university chancellor and hooded by her Public Libraries professor.

Master of Library and Information Science

The rest of the day was spent celebrating.

Very proud parents.

Best friends forever.

Posing with a tree.

Kisses for da baby!

The wall of fame.

Thug life.

Once all the photos were taken, the festivities (eating and drinking) began in earnest.

Lunch in London with some of Molly's classmates and their families.

 Molly and her former roommate Katrina.

Molly and her God-dog June Carter Cash.

The girls on the streets of London.

And then there's this guy, Robin's cat Boris.

Dinner with Molly and some of her best buds at 'Bent' in downtown Toronto.

Tears were flowing a few minutes after this photo was taken the next morning.

After a scant 36 hours it was already time to say good-bye.

And the icing on the cake?  MOLLY RECEIVED A JOB OFFER LATER ON THAT DAY!  Starting in August, she will be a children's librarian at Branksome Hall, an International Baccalaureate independent girls school (K-12) in downtown Toronto!

Molly, we are so very proud of you and your accomplishments.  You live your life by example.  You have followed your dream, worked hard, persevered through the difficult times and have an incredibly bright future.  We couldn't be more happy for you.

Enjoy every minute of this newest chapter in your life.  Toronto is lucky to have you as its most recent citizen!

Love you,

Mom
xoxoxoxoxoxo