Another Doctor in the Family

When writing about Abigail's Match Day in March, I mentioned that her medical school commencement ceremony would be in May. Well, that happened this weekend, for which our family made the trip to Miami, Florida. (Abigail attended the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine on the island of St. Maarten, but their administrative offices are in Miami, so that's also where they hold commencement each spring.)

Susan and our daughters got to Miami on Friday and relaxed together at a house that we had rented for the weekend. Because of work, I waited until Saturday to fly in and join them. After Saturday's commencement, yesterday we had a relaxing pool day (our rental had a backyard pool), and today we returned home. Check out some photos below of the festivities in Florida.

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AUC holds their commencement ceremony at the Watsco Center at the University of Miami. Before the ceremony started, it was fun to see "Dr. Abigail Moberg" appear in rotation on the digital scoreboard overhead! Also, her photo and biography appeared in the program because she was the student speaker! Her classmates had voted ahead of time and selected her to represent them.

Because Abigail was a speaker, AUC reserved seating for us near the stage. Our location gave us a good view of her as she processed in with her classmates.

Fun fact: Because AUC's main campus is on a Caribbean island, they have a Miami drum corps play "Pomp and Circumstance" on steel drums in an arrangement that has a distinctive island flair. It was great!

Here is Abigail just a few steps away from being hooded on stage by one of the medical school faculty. (Like her classmates, she stood facing the audience while a professor draped her doctoral hood over her head and around her shoulders.) Her official graduation was August 29, 2025, upon completion of all her requirements ... but it seemed to make it "official" to see the hooding and hear the "Dr. Abigail Grace Moberg" announced to the crowd!

Abigail's commencement address was terrific: full of insider references that were meaningful to her classmates and professors while still being accessible to the rest of us in the crowd, and a nice balance of looking back and looking forward.

Family photo: Jacob (Suzanna's fiancé), Suzanna, Dr. Abigail, Hillary, Susan, and Dr. Kevin

Susan arranged for there to be food in the rental house for the weekend's meals, and she had this beautiful cake made for us to celebrate with Abigail after the ceremony.

Another family pic!

Yesterday morning we had a delicious brunch at Sunny Side Cafe and Eatery. Seated between Suzanna and Abigail is the girls' friend Haley, whom they have known since childhood. Haley, Madison, and Elise are three Dickinson-area friends who spent the weekend in Miami with us for Abigail's commencement!

Mother's Day with Susan

Happy Mother's Day to Susan! Today's celebration included going to Lady J's Catering for their special Mother's Day brunch and then to Caribou Coffee for a little more visiting with Abigail before we took her to the airport. She is on her way to Florida for a vacation with some of her friends.

Then Susan and I attended an afternoon performance of the musical Bright Star at Dakota Stage. We were not familiar with the musical beforehand, although we knew that it was written by Edie Brickell, an '80s musician whose music Susan and I recall, and by Steve Martin, famous for his comedy and acting but maybe less so for his bluegrass music as a banjo player. The musical was very good, the singers and musicians were great--we really enjoyed it.

Afterward we went out for supper at the Blarney Stone Pub, right next door to the theater. They have a large garage door that opens to the sidewalk when the weather is nice ... and it was nice enough: about 65° with a light breeze. It was a lovely ending to a great day with a terrific mother!

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Posing after stuffing our tummies at brunch. Abigail snapped this picture of us before we took her to coffee and then the airport.

Traditions and Curveballs Back Home

Abigail and I recently drove up to McGregor for a weekend that brought a mix of special traditions and unexpected family worries. We originally planned the trip to attend a beloved 41-year-old community event before Abigail moves out of state for at least three years, but life threw us a curveball just before we arrived. The photos below will tell the story of our weekend filled with both community heritage and hospital bedside visits.

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At the heart of rural North Dakota are traditions like the annual creamy baked chicken supper at Zion Lutheran Church in McGregor. Returning always feels like coming home--especially now that my sister Sandy has taken our late mother's place in the kitchen to keep this four-decade legacy alive. Abigail wanted to experience it again before moving to Norfolk, Virginia, for her three-year pediatric residency; and my sister Cathy even traveled in from Belgrade, Montana, to share the meal with us! (Susan had to be in Bismarck to judge a competitive speech event for school.)

Our original plan was to bring Dad with us to the supper, but he was admitted to the hospital in Tioga several days before we arrived after experiencing some sudden weakness, mobility issues, and confusion. Abigail, my sisters, and I split our weekend between the farm and his bedside. While it wasn't the trip we planned, we were grateful to be there to support him as he waits for possible answers from the doctors.

The Plan of Care board in Dad's hospital room wasn't updated over the weekend, so I thought I would be helpful and recommend some care activities for the nursing staff to do with Dad. I'll have to ask him if they followed up with him!