May 11, 2025

Well, I said I wouldn’t cry during Dawson’s graduation. Actually, I said I probably wouldn’t. And . . . I totally failed. Oh well. I loved it all.

He did it. Cheered on in-person by his mom and dad, his brother and sister-in-law, and his wonderful girlfriend, while his grandparents watched online and cheered from afar, he graduated. 

We all ended up loving the college he chose – Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. It’s a school of hard-working STEM nerds who love the outdoor beauty of Colorado almost as much as they love the inside of a dynamite or physics laboratory, an intricate math or physics problem, or seeking the most elegant coding solution for a complex set of tasks. It’s nestled between the mountains and the old mining town of Golden, Colorado. Famous for being the home of Coors beer, it remains the only place in the world that brews and bottles Coors Banquet Beer. It’s a small town with one main street, where most of the restaurants and bars close by 9 PM. Jill and I love everything about it. Our favorite part of it is Clear Creek, the mountain water stream that flows through the entire town. People swim in it, fish in it. paddleboard and kayak in it, and our favorite, walk along the “Peaks to Plains” trail that follows the creek into the mountains.

If you go to Mines, you are an Oredigger and a helluva engineer. Their fight song says “helluva” 1,347 times, and refers to whiskey drinking as well. Blaster the dynamite-wielding burro is their mascot. It’s a different place for STEM-loving students who want to be the ones who build whatever it is that is going to change the world.

Like all well done graduation ceremonies, there were parts of it that were uniquely Mines.

• Students could wear traditional graduation caps or special western hats.
• The diploma is plated in silver
• The president gave a Blaster plush toy to all who spoke or helped in the graduation. Ryan was quite impressed by the “Bucket-O-Blasters” he used to constantly replenish his supply.
• When the president asked the graduates to turn around and thank their parents, he asked them to turn π radians. They all knew what to do.
• The president touted the school’s excellence in sports and assorted competitions, and gloated, “We love it when the nerds win.”
• One person stated, “Mines is tough to get into, and it’s even tougher to get out.”  The students wear that toughness and grit as a badge of honor.

So what made me emotional at a college graduation?

• Seeing Dawson march down with his fellow amazing students
• Hearing one of the student graduation speakers greet her fellow graduates and say, “Here we are, finally and all too soon.” 
• Hearing that same speaker (you can tell that I enjoyed Tobin Houchin’s speech) say, “You worked, you cried, you created, you failed, you connected, you stumbled, and you flew.”
• Mines’ charismatic President Johnson asking the mothers in the audience to stand, and having the graduates once again turn around π radians to give them a heartfelt Mother’s Day thank you for everything. I’m all for any moment where moms get a fraction of the love and appreciation they deserve.
• And most of all, I was overwhelmed by having our entire family together as we celebrated Dawson’s graduation, enjoying every minute of the rare family time, and cheering our youngest on to whatever is next.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the uncertainty in the job market. Dawson plans to earn his masters degree and enter the job market this time next year. In spite of all the challenges in our fast-changing world, I remain highly optimistic on his chances of landing a job he loves. Or landing a job that eventually leads him to a job he loves. As he invests his energy in that job search over the course of the next year, I hope that he gains strength from this weekend.

One of my core beliefs is that we can do almost anything if we know we are loved and supported by our family and friends. It doesn’t mean we won’t fail or stumble, but if are persistent in our efforts, and we know we are buoyed by our loved ones, we can eventually fly.  As Ted Lasso would say . . . BELIEVE.

Post #132 on www.drmdmatthews.com

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NOTES

I add these notes sections for a number of reasons:

And remember, the posts are long enough – no one is making you read the notes. (Dad – If you are going to critique me for how long my posts are, please stop reading now. This is the optional part!)
First and foremost, many of you are crazy enough to read them.
My posts are long enough, so believe it or not, I do try to limit them. Ideas that don’t make the cut can end up in the notes section.
I include additional resources, links, stories, for those of you who want to go a little deeper.
I may include something from the comments made in my last post, or something I learned in the process of writing this one.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms who read these posts. Thank you for your love and patience, and I hope you are loved, honored, and pampered in the ways that you so richly deserve.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, who can no longer read these columns. Her memory issues continue to eat away at her mind and her body, but when I visited her last month, I could still feel her unconditional love. 

If you want to read a touching, funny, and real mother’s day column, read Chris Erskine’s post from yesterday. Spectacular.

The Coors Beer factory has been in Golden Colorado since 1873. They produce the equivalent of 7 billion (7,000,000,000) bottles of beer each year, and they produce all of the Coors banquet beer in the world. It is a massive facility. I’ve yet to go on a tour, but I will go next year. When I was growing up in Arkansas, where Coors was not sold, getting your hand on a Coors beer was a special moment. By the way, we pronounce it “Curz.” Friends and family would return from ski trips to Colorado with cases of Coors. Since 1991, you’ve been able to buy it in Arkansas and other states east of Colorado. But there’s still no In-n-Out there.

If you ever visit Golden, Colorado, here are some of the places we love.

• Clear Creek Trail – I mentioned it above. They continue to expand it into the mountains. It is a wonderful walk or run, and it’s great people watching.
• The Golden Hotel – We stay here every time. Western in its interior feel, monolithic in its architecture, it has great service, comfortable rooms, and it’s located right on Washington Avenue, the main street in town.
• The Golden Mill – We love this place. It’s a two-story indoor-outdoor beer garden overlooking Clear Creek. You get a special card and you pour your own drink, choosing from 50 beer taps, a few wine taps, and a few cocktail taps. They even have some non-alcoholic beer taps, something that I hope to see more and more of in bars and restaurants. They were pouring Athletic brand NA beers, something that is always in my refrigerator. They have three different food stations, and it’s just a great hang.
• Vital Outdoors – An outdoor clothing company. I do too much of my shopping online, so when I have the time and I can find a place that is welcoming and embraces the culture of its town, I’m all in. I have my share of flannel shirts and tech pants from this place.
• The Windy Saddle – I start almost every morning in Golden with a latte from the Windy Saddle. The name sounds like a tribute to Blazing Saddles, but it’s named for nearby Windy Saddle Park. Great coffee, warm pastries in the morning, and an extensive menu. Don’t be in a hurry, and embrace the wait.
• Woody’s Pizza and Watering Hole– They have no Michelin stars, but it is the most recommended restaurant in Golden. Attentive wait staff with a solid sense of humor, special late night deals (9:00) for college students, a salad bar (you don’t see those much anymore, do you?), good pizza, cold beer, and a line waiting to get in. It was our last lunch in Golden on this trip, and I enjoyed the experience.