Cindy and Dave's Adventures

It is easy when you are a parent to really focus on your screw-ups. You know, you lost your temper and yelled at the kids. Or didn’t respond well to one of their meltdowns. But this last week, I got to feel good about my kids- fantastic even!

We went to Atlanta, one last time, to watch Moo get her doctorate and masters degrees. She has worked her butt off, moved all over the country, and survived distance learning because of damn COVID-19! In fact, her whole masters in Public Health was online. She had to get up at 5 am because she was with us taking 8 am classes in Georgia! And group projects….I’m sure I would have totally lost it with the issues she has had with GRADUATE students who flake in class. It truly reinforced my dislike of group projects. And the stress of trying to find clinical experience in the time of COVID! But she finished and passed her boards! Whoo hoo! On to post graduate life.

As we gathered to take family pictures, I became so proud of both my kids- we have 2 Dr. Murbach’s in the family. I am not a huge fan of the “you have to go to college” movement, but it was pretty clear when these two were little that they would go to college. They had big plans and both were planners from a young age. So Dave and I decided we would make sure they could go to college for at least a BS on us. One of the hardest times of my life was at UCD, going quarter to quarter with no idea of how I would pay for it. This would not be the case for them. This is the privilege of having college educated parents. We know that if you have the ability, you need to further your education beyond high school. With Matt it became evident very early on that he had an inner drive to know everything about everything. I recognize that drive- it was so hard for me to figure out what to get my doctorate in since I wanted to know everything (well maybe there was a limit with physics!). So he would need to go beyond the bachelor’s degree. Cherie took a bit longer because she wanted to be a forest ranger, swim coach, a dancer, organizer….and then the physical therapist. And that stuck. And that requires a doctorate these days. And then the plan began. She started really working hard at Saint Francis, and I don’t think she ever looked back.

When the kids were little there was drama, and arguments and all that normal stuff in our house. We worked hard to make sure they were busy with experiences but kept education in the forefront. I am happy I got to go to Europe with both of them to play water polo; in fact, their various sports teams pretty much dominated our lives for many years. Sierra Sharks swim team for example! We were purple and black for basically 20 years when Cherie then decided to coach after finishing out her swimming years. That is a lot of sitting in tents, figuring out snacks and what to do during down time. We made some wonderful family friends during that time also. Dave and I had many divide and conquer moments, each with a kid, but always tried to meet up for meals if possible. Lots of Subway and Taco Bell, for sure!

In fact, a lot of our life is based on meal time and in Atlanta the family that joined us got to see that in action. Since Matt was born he has been all about food- from nursing 2 hours straight to trying to eat 15,000 calories daily in high school to gain some weight while playing water polo. We all enjoy our food! Luckily, both Jenny and Eric have fit right in with that and we still plan out meals when we get together.

Speaking of Jenny and Eric, I think Dave and I are most happy about the kids’ partner choices. They picked some good ones! Those kids have worked their way into this family and our hearts. We are so happy that Cherie and Eric finally get to be together again and are looking forward to the wedding in September. Just think – all three anniversaries are within a span of 5 days. That is auspicious in and of itself. All in all our kids seem to be happy, have made great choices in their partners for life and want to make the world a better place. What more can a parent ask for? I think we did ok in the parent department even if we weren’t perfect!