Anna celebrates her graduation from Boston Latin School, and entry into college life at Smith College, Northampton, MA as the 30th recipient of the Ayres Family Shotput!   Mally sent photos with this lovely message:

Hello family!!

I am writing to let you know that the family Shot Put has metamorphosed once again - from a Scottish Sheep (gifted to me from Andrew and Christine when I completed my maaaa-sters in 2019) to a Bean Man! 

I presented our Anna Bean with Shot Put Bean Man last Friday to celebrate not just her new start at Smith College this year, but also the thoroughness and courageousness with which she lives! 

Bean Man came with a very important "to-do" list of Freshman year (mis)adventures: 

-Forget keys and get locked out

-Have a "wok-tastrophe"*

-Skip class

-Late night pizza run

-Dorm room dance party

-Run out of toilet paper

-Laugh so hard you fart

*If you don't know the story of the "wok-tastrophe", just ask Andrew Smith :)

To me, the history of our Shot Put speaks to the humor and playfulness of our family. It's not just about celebrating achievement or accomplishment, but celebrating life and silliness! With that in mind, I encouraged Anna to - when the time comes - consider passing the shot put torch for unexpected or less conventional reasons. My hope is that the tradition continues to evolve, carrying forward our family’s spirit of ridiculousness, laughter, and joy.

But for now, Bean Man adventures await! 

(Click to advance slide image)