Congratulations Mom! And the boys, of course...guess they have something to do with this pride, don't they? ;>

PS...yep, your check covered it perfectly. I also insured it, hopefully that won't be needed.

Congratulations to both of your sons! You have every right to be proud.

Hugs to you for all the work you have done to bring them to this point of accomplishment - your encouragement, support, occasional nagging, patience and handling paperwork.I know they are grateful!

Congratulations to your sons and you too. It's a wonderful accomplishment bringing up boys to be educated, responsible men.

You should be proud. These boys are doing great!!!

Pat yourself on the back. You have done well!

That's so wonderful to hear! Congratulations to both you and your children and good luck to them!

what amazing news, you have every reason to be proud !!

Wow -no doubt Max has got a fabulous with that kind of prep. Perhaps he will be a peacemaker someday.... Interesting tidbit, my uncle/godfather was a translator for the state dept. He spoke 27 different languages and got newspapers in a dozen languages every day. But he focused on the middle east. He imported the FIRST arabic typewriter into the U.S.!

Max will have no trouble getting a good job! What a great major and great school.

Now, as far as Derek going to UT? All I can say is "GO SOONERS, BEAT THE LONGHORNS!!!"

heh. Did you know when OU and UT play football they always do it at the Dallas Cowboys football field? That's how much of a rival the two schools are because all the people of both states go to the game. lol

Cool, golddust! My father actually went to AUB (American University of Beirut) for undergrad (math/physics major). It was a while ago, of course, but he absolutely loved it and it opened many doors for him (including the one that eventually led him to the US). Bet there aren't too many alums of that school on this list :)

And great for Derek, too! Is that UT Austin?

(bestyears, **27** languages? I thought my father was impressive with 6! My lands. I can't even imagine that. WOW.)

fly -yes, Uncle Harold was an amazing man. They lived outside DC, but always came up to NH to spend summers at the lake. When he found out that I had started taking German in highschool, he would only speak to me in German. I found it to be so stressful, I nearly stopped speaking to him, but with gently pressure from him, I eventually worked my way through it, and no doubt he helped me a great deal. He was a fascinating man, because as intelligent and scholarly as he was, he was always most interested in what he could still learn from others. I worked in "Corporate America" right out of college, and he was just fascinated with that world, because he had no experience with it. He would frequently ask me quite naive, basic questions, such that I almost felt as if I would be insulting him to give him the straight answer, it just seemed so obvious. But he was one of those wonderful, rare personalities who was not afraid to expose his utter lack of knowledge in an area, and genuinely wanted to know these things. He also had the sometimes typical traits of a genius, which made common sense, everyday tasks a bit of a challenge for him. He bought a single-speed bike at a NH yard sale once, and a few days after that, he took off for a ride around the lake. He was gone for hours and we were all very worried, and about to call the police when he suddenly showed up. He was just beaming as he explained that the chain had come off his bicycle, but he had eventually figured out how to put it back on! For this man who regularly palled around with heads of state, it was one of his proudest moments apparently.

(tiny hijack) bestyears, what wonderful memories of such a fascinating man. I'd told my family about him and my DD asked a question: what nationality was he? What languages did he grow up speaking? Did he live outside the US for a significant period of time? Or how did he learn so many languages?

And golddust, your Max is also a hero to our family, because of how he handled his syncope problem (that was the word, right? The fainting-upon-stress issue?). What a fabulous character-defining choice he made; it kind of set the stage for all his choices to come. Unforgettable.

I'm feeling so badly about this hijack (so sorry golddust)... Uncle Harold was an American. I don't believe he'd ever been out of the country before he started his career. He went to Princeton, where he majored in linguistics. He also learned a number of languages through the State Dept. They do some very intensive training, designed to bring people up to fluency more quickly than other methods.

Wow golddust, congratulations! I'll bet you're proud! You've got two very special sons and I'll bet they continue to make you proud.

congrats darling!!! I hope my son does half as well :) And perhaps congrats on the pottery? I missed it in the flurry of getting the parlor done :(

Big congrats to both boys and to you and your DH, too! My own DS was, at one time, very interested in attending the University of America in Beirut. It's an impressive university and I'll be anxious to hear more about your son's time there.
Bestyears: thank you for the wonderful, fascinating story of your uncle. I'll be thinking about him for days . . . 27 languages . . . OMG!
Lynn