In my high school, there was a big push for sons and daughters to get to a college or university and get a degree. There was even a big emphasis to get a degree as soon as you could. One summer I took some classes for my Elementary Education degree so I could graduate in 3 1/2 years. We even joked about students who kept changing degrees and stayed in school as a “career student”.

A generation later and things have changed. As proud parents tend to do we were beaming with pride as our oldest son, Andrew walked across the graduation stage. One kid was done two more to go! He graduated with a 3.9 GPA, several scholarships and had plans to follow in his father’s footsteps as a flight nurse. His classes were set for the fall semester and he was on his way.

A few weeks into his fall semester, Andrew sat us down and had an announcement for us. He had a revelation during his anatomy class that nursing wasn’t a passion of his. It wasn’t something he has always dreamed of doing.

We took the news well just like any supportive parents would do. We were thankful that he was figuring this out now instead of later after four years of college and money being spent.

Flashback to Andrew as a toddler and preschooler. He was ALWAYS taking things apart and putting them back together. He loved planes, trains, and automobiles and how they worked.

Andrew wanted to be a pilot for Black Hills Life Flight. He told us when he was little he always liked airplanes and how they worked. He could still make a difference by getting the crew and patient to wherever they needed to go safely. Andrew found a flight program in Watertown, SD that was just getting off the ground (pun intended).

In the meantime, Andrew will continue working at Applebee’s and make some extra cash before school starts in the fall.

Well, Andrew did some more research (as he usually does during his spare time) and found out that there aren’t many pilot jobs available. There were many diesel-mechanical jobs around and as he did when he was little, he would be taking things apart and putting them back together. Andrew found a school near our home and with his scholarships can go for free. Beautiful words any parent would love to hear.

We are not sure if this is what Andrew’s dream job will be or if he will change his mind again. All we ever want for our sons is for them to be happy in what they choose for a career and be able to provide for their families. How they get there doesn’t have to be as quick as I did.

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