This weekend is another big one for the Owan clan. We’ll be celebrating with our older son as he is bestowed “with all the rights and privileges” of a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, specifically robotics and artificial intelligence.
Several weeks ago we celebrated as our younger son was graduated with all the rights and privileges of a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, with a minor in International Communications. He outshined all of us with an impressive magna cum laude status and a host of other awards, including Engineering Ambassador for the University of Arizona. He’s on his way to law school, where he plans to focus on IP—intellectual property—law.
Boy, are we proud of them!
But the accolades and achievements didn’t come easy, even though our older son is unusually bright and picks up concepts faster than normal. Way faster than normal, actually. And our younger son has the enviable capacity to be deeply introspective, which helps him identify his weaknesses and strengths and work in a way to take advantage of his strengths and neutralize those weaknesses.
Aside from their natural God-bestowed gifts, their awards came through hard work, lack of sleep, heightened anxiety, and poor eating habits. Sacrifices and deliberate avoidance of certain activities. Making conscious decisions to choose the best over the good. Sometimes—even though you strive for a balanced life—life needs to be lived unbalanced, as long as it doesn’t become a habit and the norm.
And I think they took to heart something I repeated to them from the time when they were very young:
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NKJV).
I love how The Message renders this:
“Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
This is your last and only chance at it,
For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think
In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.”
We taught them that if they had just B brain capacities, then they needed to be the best darn B brains they could be. No excuses for what they didn’t have. They needed to use the gifts God gave them to His glory. So they wouldn’t look back on their lives with regret about talents and gifts they’d wasted or neglected to mature and develop.
They were also reminded often of the verse from Colossians 3:23-24:
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
And they were taught to dream big.
B-HAGS we call them in the Owan house. Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
Sometimes I think our older one goes a bit overboard with this, but he really is his father’s son, so I’m not surprised.
So this weekend we’re celebrating what he’s accomplished, where he’s come from and where he’s going. Memories of the last 28 years are already causing me to break out in melancholy.
It’s going to be a weekend to celebrate both the spirit and the body. And rejoice that our lives are a combination of both.
We all have stories to tell. Our lives are stories.
I’m having a grand time watching my sons’ stories unfold! Here’s the younger one on his big day!
Until next Friday,
Dream big, explore your potential, and celebrate body and spirit!
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
Photos by Andrea A Owan