Mommy calls it the best weekend of our lives

The weekend of May 12 and 13, 2012, will be an exciting one for my mom, my brother and me because we each are celebrating something – something big. We will be together in Washington D.C. Mom and I have never ever been to Washington. We will join my brother Derval, who currently lives there, for what my mom calls “the best weekend of our lives.”

Me, my brother Derval and Mom at my graduation ceremony in 2010 at the University of Toronto

On May 12, Derval will graduate from Howard University’s College of Dentistry with a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree. We always knew we would one day call him Doctor Clarke. I told him to hook me up with veneers when he gets settled because I want a perfect smile when I begin my own career in television broadcasting. The last time I saw him graduate was in 2001 when he graduated from high school in Jamaica. He didn’t attend his graduation ceremony at the University of Toronto because he had already begun studies at Howard. Luckily for me, he came back to see me graduate at U of T a year or two later. This time, I will be a witness as he gets that DDS! Certainly, that is the degree to earn and the ceremony to attend.

Doctor Clarke in action at school

Come May 13, the attention will graduate to my Mom and me. Mother’s Day falls on my birthday this year. I will celebrate my 25^th birthday, and this quarter-century celebration is a milestone. In an article 25th Birthday Celebrations Are A Special Time, Sara Brainsbridge writes, "Being twenty-five years old can be regarded as an actually special time. It's a point in one's life that may be looked at as a marker, because you ought to have already had a fair quantity of success and accomplishment." I am very proud of where I am today and I am happy to agree with the writer and say I have achieved a lot. 

I am getting ready to start graduate school this fall, and the thought of earning a master’s degree is overwhelming. I don’t have my own car, nor do I own a house, but I know those things will come. My girlfriend has had her own car since she was 18 or 19 and she paid for it herself, so she gets bragging rights. My plan has always been to excel academically before anything else. I might even start a Ph.D. program right after I earn my masters degree so that I too can become Doctor Clarke.

I will admit that there are a few things I am disappointed about. I had made up my mind that at this stage of my life I would have already earned my master’s degree and be working in television broadcasting. As it turns out, I am still striving to get there. Sometimes life does not pan out how one expects, but as my mom always says, “You win some, you lose some.” I have won some, and will win some more.

 Mom and me

Mother’s Day on my birthday is exciting. I get to share the day with my mom, and she is the best person I can share my 25^th birthday with.

I don’t know what we all will do, but whatever it is, it will be AWESOME! It will be the best weekend of our lives.