When my younger (barely an adult) sister Carol posted the above link on Facebook, this picture came to mind. Bobby's third grade teacher, Mrs. Peterson, gave it to Hyesuk. It has always been one of her favorites.
A few days ago, Bobby’ Mom shipped
him new underwear, formally recognizing his newfound status as a college
graduate. I’m certain Bobby is
anxiously awaiting its arrival so he can adorn the official symbol of his
landmark achievement. While Harry Potter
fans may get a chuckle over one possible "presentation of underwear" meaning, I believe the
Koreans view the gift as a practical way of symbolizing the start of a new life
by taking off the old and putting on the new.
The box also contains a Polo shirt,
grill, and a large variety of Korean foodstuffs. I know the food means “Love” in Korean
culture, but I’ll have to make up his Mom’s meaning for the other items. The
grill means to take time with those he cares about, relax, laugh a little, and
find enjoyment in life’s simpler pursuits.
The Polo shirt is meant to make him more presentable so he can find a
good job, attract a nice girl, get married, and give us some grandchildren. ;)
Bobby now holds the Kelly Konecne
family branch record for the quickest graduation (5 years and 4 months) from
college. He's easily surpassed the previous record of 9 years held by his
Dad, and literally blown away his Mom's 17-year mark (remarkably every credit
she took applied to her degree). While
I’ve tried hard over the years to discourage sibling rivalry, in this case, I
hope Laura realizes she still has an opportunity to take this prize away from
her older brother ;)
I liked Bobby’s Facebook post, “Now
is the time to find a job where I’m not washing dishes or bagging groceries!” He
didn’t include working at the Pearl Harbor Shipyard and making sandwiches at
Subway, but those jobs were also good honest work. I know Bobby is a little anxious about finding
a “better” job, but I’m impressed that he’s still working two jobs while he
looks and that he graduated without a penny of debt.
Now that he’s successfully made it over one of
life’s first hurdles, I’m actually glad his race hasn’t been an easy one. Working hard and learning to live off very
little is a valuable life lesson that’ll prepare him to more easily overcome
future life challenges. Maybe that’s why he chose “Now is the time to find a job”, vs. “Wait for
someone to give me a job.” Regardless,
he should take a few days to bask in the glory of his present victory.
I know Bobby expects each of my blogs
to contain a sermon. It will be short. I’m convinced the simple message of
Philippians 3:13-14 is well worth a few moments of research and
reflection. All of us need to press on
to our new calling.
