It's GG's party and she'll cry if she wants to.

How do you get a two year old excited about going to her GG's graduation when she has no concept of what a graduation is? Tell her it's a party. Little does she know it will be one of the dullest "parties" she'll ever attend, but she can find that out for herself, I thought.

My Mum, my hero, graduated from nursing school and we were so happy to be there to see her walk across the stage and receive her diploma. We usually visit Canada in August, but planned our trip around her graduation...excuse me, her party.

Teagan skipped and hopped the whole way from the parking garage, singing "Let's go to GG's party!" and we entered the arena. My Mum's words, "It won't be a big deal, just my class, really," echoed in my brain almost as loudly as our hurried footsteps echoed through the halls of the arena, desperately searching for 6-7 seats together just minutes before commencement was to commence. Bless Kristina's heart, she secured us seats together and we reserved a seat in front of us for Nicola, who had an exam she couldn't miss. The "no big deal" crew filed into the arena to the relaxing refrain of a bagpipe and took no less than 20 minutes to do so. My Dad (not one to jump at the chance to spend hours in the company of thousands of strangers - I'm with him) was a true sport and it was heartwarming to see him there to support his wife.

My brother-in-law, Pablo, was clever enough to wear a bright green shirt and got Mum to spot us right as she paraded in. I'm sure she was relieved to have found us so quickly and she could steal glances at our row every now and again, either out of love, or to make sure we were still there.

It was so wonderful to see her walk the walk across the stage and be recognized for all of the hard work and long hours that she's put into her nursing degree. So proud. There was a whole lotta screaming when Gay Haw made her appearance on the JumboTron. I'm having a hard time saying "sadly" here, because I'm more amazed (and relieved) than anything else, that Teagan slept through most of the commencement ceremony. Miraculous. After the "party", we hurried to take photos before Mum had to return her gown, and did surprisingly well with a self-timer and a shelf.

We ventured outside after Mum returned her graduation paraphernalia and were followed outside by a sweet lady with graduation balloons that she thought Teagan might enjoy more than she would. It was so kind. And Teagan ate them up...before her aunties and uncles could suck them up the next day. It was really sweet.

I'm so proud of my Mum and of my family for rallying around her going back to school. It's no surprise that she excelled in her program and was on the President's Honour Roll, while maintaining a job and taking care of the fam. She's a glutton for punishment and will be going back for more in the fall, and by "more", I mean a Master's Degree. I know, with Superwoman as my Mum, I really should be more impressive, but sometimes the apple rolls a long way away from the tree. I wanted to pay tribute to her today, since it's her birthday as well. Sorry we weren't there for that, but we were so happy to be in attendance at her party. And any time the word "party" comes up, Teagan yells "GG's party!" So she had a good time - no need for her to party in high school, right?