On Friday in a sweltering heat my sister-in-law marched down the aisle among a sea of fellow graduates to receive her long-coveted bachelor’s degree. Cloaked in a black robe with gold cords draped around her neck, hearty cowboy boots, and her signature smile, her crowning glory was a cap adorned with pictures of her and her children, sunflowers and the words, “Mom it’s not too late”. As she puts it, “I can now check this off my bucket list”. With her youthful looks and carefree smile, my sister-in-law could pass for the average coed but she’s a little more “seasoned in age” than your most recent college graduate with a bachelor’s degree. However, this was something she wanted for herself, so along with all the responsibilities of a fully grown woman with a job, a husband and three kids, she decided it was never too late to dust off this dream deferred for decades and turn it into a reality.
Now, while this is my sister-in-law’s story there are many of us with dreams delayed, plans set on a back burner and things on a bucket list whose bottom has long since bottomed out because we have decided it’s too late. The good thing is, life has no script and there is no prescribed wrong or right order of doing most things, and my kids are probably looking at me all side-eyed right now for even having the nerve to write this out loud. But yes, I will admit that for some of us the conventional way of doing things might not always be the “right” way. Sometimes we get so preoccupied with doing things in a specific order and by a certain age that when life happens, and our order is disrupted we automatically assume our moment has passed or that we have missed out on the opportunity to strike.
My sister-in-law believed it was never too late and her encouraging kids behind her made sure she didn’t forget. All that was needed to get back on track was recognizing the right time, a little rearrangement, some reprioritization and the realization that sometimes we just have to work a little harder and maybe longer to finally get to where we would like to be. So, she graduated this year along with two of those kids, one from high school and the other, her eldest, with her own bachelor’s degree.
So, to my sissy and those of you who hung in there and never gave up, I say congrats and kudos to you for realizing that when it comes to your dreams it’s never too late.
