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In adulthood, momentous occasions are surprisingly anticlimactic.

College graduation is a pretty big hoopla. You rent or buy a cap and gown, you wear your best clothes, there’s a lot of to do. Everyone hears them call your name, everyone sees you shake the college president’s hand. You stand around in the lawn and take a lot of pictures and everybody makes a lot of fuss.

Life is not like that.

I defended my thesis today.

When it was over, I had a long talk with my friend J. about her pending divorce/separation and put on my snow boots and slopped my way to the bus stop, where I took the bus back to the bookstore where my car was parked. On the way home, I picked up some stuff from the Chinese grocery (my favorite place ever!) and called the clan. Now I’m home sitting on my bed in my clean room, looking at the stacks of library books to be returned and pondering dinner options. Granted, there will be celebration. Mom and Dad are planning to come up and get dinner with me (a surprise, I was planning to make egg rolls,) it is not the kind of elation that you might expect.

There is no big deal, there were 3 hearty handshakes and a round of congratulations, and it was over. I am an MA, and there are still dirty dishes and student loans and snow to shovel. Life is startlingly boring.