About a year ago, I wrote a personal blog about the graduation of my oldest son, Andrew, and the overseas mission trip by my second son, Steven. This year, the roles are reversed. Last week, our family went to Knoxville to attend the graduation ceremony of Steven from the University of Tennessee’s College of Business Administration. He earned a degree on International Business and Marketing. He will return to Knoxville this fall to work for a while and plans to go to grad school pretty soon. In the meantime, I plan to use his education to help me with some business and marketing planning here at the inn.
As I write, Andrew is on a plane flight to East Asia. You may recall that Andrew graduated last year from UNC and now works full time for Campus Crusade for Christ on the UNC campus. Two summers ago, he went to Middle Asia as a student, and this year is helping lead a group to East Asia for the next six weeks. Your thoughts and prayers will be appreciated.
I don’t want to forget our third son, John Thomas. He will also graduate next month from high school and will attend UT in the fall. He has had a great high school experience and now looks forward to the next venture in Knoxville.
Pride can be a tricky emotion. Too much self-pride can result in an overbearing ego and/or other problems. However, I think pride in the accomplishments of our children is permissible. More importantly, pride in their growth as mature, responsible individuals and in the development of their character is, and should be, required. So, forgive me while a I beam just a bit.
I hope you can come visit us this year and share the wonderful events in your lives. We have some great discounts and always look forward to seeing you.
–Mort
