Our Abilene Decade

It wasn’t really a full decade. Actually, it was only 9 years…although some of the days seemed like years. There were times when I was sure our heads would explode from holding our breath. Now that I think about it, holding your breath should be added to the list of spiritual disciplines, or at least be added a posture of prayer!

It was during one of those breath-holding prayer sessions that I was given the idea of “Pay-for-Attendance.” You see class attendance had become a problem. As you know, that is just the first domino to fall; then comes the grade reports, then academic suspension, and finally scholarship suspension. So I received some divine inspiration and developed a “part of your weekly allowance is at risk” program. In order to receive the full amount of weekly allowance you had to attend every class. It was an honor system, and it worked. Each of them reported when they had overslept and missed a class.

File that away in your advice file for when your kids go off to school. Here’s another piece of advice: The Six Week Rule. Don’t let them come home for the first six weeks of the school year. That way they are forced to meet people and get involved at the school. It’s hard, but stick to your guns. You’ll be glad you did.

The decade started in the Summer of 2000. Justin and I drove out to visit McMurray and Hardin-Simmons because both were interested in him coming to play baseball there. Later that week we drove back to Abilene for a baseball tryout at Abilene Christian. That was the first of several two-a-week drives for me. I tried to make every baseball game I could and that often meant the non-conference games on Tuesday and then back for the 3-game series on Friday and Saturday.

Jordan joined Justin at Hardin-Simmons in 2002. In 2005, he tagged out as Janelle tagged in. It’s funny. The girls insisted they would not go to school where there brother was, but then they didn’t apply anywhere else.

Our visits to Abilene were well-scripted: Lunch, Wal-Mart, Dinner and then to the Gas Station to fill up everyone’s cars before we left town. These visits were expensive.

Laura hated the drive. For her it was too boring and she has a hard time sitting still. Her restlessness always seemed to kick in right about the mileage sign that says

Eastland 75
El Paso 545

As we drove by I would always tell her, “Just be glad we’re not going to El Paso.” She always responded, “If we were going to El Paso, I wouldn’t be in this car!”

That was also part of the Abilene script.

But now the Abilene decade is over. Janelle graduated from Hardin-Simmons last Saturday. It was only fitting that she graduated on her mother’s birthday – a great present: 4 of 4 now college graduates.

We celebrated with a great lunch at Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap. That may be the last time we get to Perini Ranch. During lunch Justin told his mother that she was now officially the dumbest person in the family because she had not gone to college. She reminded him that she couldn’t be too dumb because everybody else was having to work for a living and she didn’t have to!

Actually, she earned her P.U.T. She “put us through.” It has been a 15 year marathon. Since 1994, with the exception of a 1-year gap, at least one of us has been in school:

J.Lee: September 1994 – April 1997: Ph.D. UT-Arlington
Jennifer: 1998-2001, BBA, Texas Wesleyan
Justin: 2000-2005, BBS, Hardin-Simmons
Jordan: 2002-2007, BBS, Hardin-Simmons
Janelle: 2005-2009, BBS, Hardin-Simmons


We spent the 1980’s having babies. We’ve spent the first decade of this century getting them through college. And now, the Abilene Decade is over.