Graduation – A Bit of This A Bit of That

Last Thursday my baby brother graduated with a B.A. in Government. I cant even begin to describe how proud I am of this kid. He not only studied for the last 3 years but he worked full time too. He did all this with the support of his wife and son, who also deserve huge credit! Proud doesn’t even begin to describe it!

My mommy made a surprise visit so she could attend the graduation and I am so glad she was there. Such a special moment to stand together with my brother in his cap and gown.

Now, all these wonderful photos almost didn’t happen. At least, I almost wasn’t in them.

You see I had to get from my office in Lod, to Hertzliya, by 17:15 so my brother could fetch me from the station on his way to the graduation. A friend in the office and I mapped out my route on Moovit and off I went at about 15:00 to catch the bus to the train station.

I got to the station a few minutes earlier than expected and I saw a different train than I had planned was about to come in. So I took it. Without actually checking properly that the train stopped in Hertzliya.

You see, this particular train went via Hertzliya, it just didn’t STOP in Hertzliya. Which I only realised as we breezed through the station. The announcement for the next stop on the route came over the loud speakers. Haifa. An hour away.

Whats a girl going to do? Settle in and read a book, that’s what. (Thank goodness the train had power points so I could charge my reading device aka my phone).

Anyway, after taking some pics of the gorgeous Mediterranean, I got off the train in Haifa and hopped on the next train back to Tel Aviv. Thankfully I didnt have to wait too long. After another hour traveling back, I got off at University station in Tel Aviv and hopped on ANOTHER train to Hertzliya. Again, I didn’t have to wait too long and the train from Tel Aviv to Hertzliya is about 7 minutes.

I got to Hertzliya and after having some difficulty with the scanner reading my ticket, a very nice train employee let me out the station just in time to catch a bus to the IDC campus.

What should have taken me an hour took me just over 3 hours. You would think that since I was so late I would have missed a large chunk of the graduation ceremony. You would think wrong. I only missed one musical number by the local Wind Orchestra and the opening 10 minutes of the Deans speech.

Just so you can see exactly how far off course I went, I've circled the places on the map where I started, should have gone and actually went... — Just so you can see exactly how far off course I went, I’ve circled the places on the map where I started, should have gone and actually went…

So not only did I get to see my brother walk and collect his degree but I also got to go on an adventure. Good times.

A little bit of background…

My brother Matt is graduating with a degree in Government this week. This is a huge deal. he is the only one of the three of us to get a degree.

A few months ago my mom called and wanted to plan a trip to come for the graduation. But it would only be for a few days, we couldn’t take leave, the kids were at school and we decided it was too expensive to come for so short a time. Rather she would come for 2 weeks in December.

Fast forward to last Tuesday. My mom phones me. She is booking a ticket and she is coming on Friday. Don’t tell Matt!

The plan was for me to fetch her from the airport on Friday morning, she would go to fetch the kids from school and surprise them and then Matt and Yana were going to come for supper and walk in and be all surprised.

Except they already had plans with Barrie for dinner. So I messaged Barrie who kindly cancelled his plans with them (without letting on why) and they could then come to us for supper.

Except now Matt was suspicious. But deny, deny, deny. No, mom is not coming.

To make the surprise a bit bigger, since Matt was already suspicious that she was coming, we hid mom in the laundry room when they arrived and told the kids to pretend Nana wasn’t here. We made mom wait for 5 minutes in the laundry room before walking out ever so quietly.

Yana saw her first and she was speechless. It took a minute for Matt to click and when he turned around there was mom.

Its been a whirlwind. From getting the tickets to surprising Matt to organising who, where, what and whens. But its been so much fun!

Matt’s graduation is on Wednesday and mom goes back to SA on Friday morning. So a quick trip. But so special to have her here.

Tag: Graduation

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Graduation

Surprise!