Another one to check off the list

Last weekend was a very big weekend for our family. Our baby, Macy, graduated from Swarthmore College. Not only did she graduate she also was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She doesn't realize what an accomplishment this is, but I am inordinately proud of all the hard work and effort she put in to her education. She also received her certification in Biology, so she achieved quite a bit with this graduation.

Macy was fortunate to meet some fantastic young women as a freshman and they are still her best friends, supporting and loving each others as sisters. The girls traveled to the far reaches of the world their junior year and brought back all their amazing experiences to share. They will now be flung out in to the world, Maria to Korea, Apolline to NYC, Aurora to Philadelphia, and Caitlin to Vermont, and Macy to the Peace Corps(in south America, she hopes). Their futures are bright and fresh and so full of promise. It was a joy to spend time with them and their families. I was bursting with love and pride for all of them.

The girls scheduled a get together for all the families the night before graduation. They then took time to thank us for our support and let us know where they were all headed and their immediate plans. It was a lovely evening with an international flair, as Mace is the only one with American roots.

There was also time for pictures in the Big Chair, a Swarthmore icon. It sits on Parrish Beach in front of the original building and every senior takes time for photos in the Big Chair.

Another tradition at Swat is that the seniors choose a rose from the Rose Garden to wear on their gown the morning of graduation. Normally no one is allowed to pick the roses in the rose garden but the morning of graduation the volunteer staff cut mountains of roses and the seniors pick their favorite. We made a point of checking out the options the night before.


One of my favorite things about Swarthmore is that the whole campus is an arboretum so the gardener in me was always happy to make a run out to pick up the little one. I loved arriving early and just wandering the campus and learning new cultivars. The Scott Arboretum staff gives all incoming freshmen a bulb and asks them to plant it anywhere on campus and to look for it in the spring. When they graduate they are all handed a small potted shrub, Itea, along with their diplomas. Obviously, this is my kind of college.

This is part of the small Scott Arboritum garden near their offices.


Graduation is always held in the amphitheater, rain or shine. We were very fortunate to have beautiful weather.

Before Graduation...

 During...

Amazing, right?

  Patiently waiting her turn.

 Yes, the moment we have all waited for.

The Graduate

The proud parents

Macy is leaving Swarthmore with a well earned degree, an incomparable education, a lifetime of memories, the best of friends and the confidence to go into the world to make her mark. Her journey has just begun.