A Mother of a Graduate

LargeBoy has now officially graduated 8th grade and is spending this 90 degree day on all of the water rides at Six Flags; the newly graduated class takes one last class trip every year to Six Flags - we never got to do that! Anyway, he did very well, walked proud, didn't screw around during the ceremony, shook the hands, said the thank yous, etc. PC & I were very proud of him as were his grandmothers, his grandfather, his Mimi, his brother and sister, and his father. Once the ceremony was over, they all filed out of the church and threw their caps into the air. They were ecstatic, sad, overjoyed, and overwhelmed. Following graduation was a party that lasted until midnight, terribly brutal on a Monday night, but it was worth it. Overall, it was a wonderful evening. We're lucky we got there.

Let me start from the top. LargeBoy's last official day of school was May 31. The next day was graduation practice. The class of 2005 received their caps and gowns and their instruction on how to process up and around and shake hands and, ultimately, graduate. The days that followed were filled with trips all over our town, hanging out with friends, coming home scratched up and then giving mom a heart attack telling her HOW it happened (skateboard....slipped....bounced off car....), etc. Not one thought was given to anything else. Sunday night was spent ironing the robe and hunting down an elusive tassell which LargeBoy claimed Girl had lost - Mom found it in LargeBoy's folded-but-not-put-away-like-I-asked laundry basket. Tassell found. "LargeBoy, here's your tassell, go put it with your cap."

"Mom, I'll do it at the commercial."

Yeah, you know what comes next, right?

Monday evening's itinerary looked a little like this:

4:45: Mom gets home from work and arrives into chaos - Boy can't find tassell (HA! - like I didn't see that coming a mile away).

5:00: Still can't find tassell, leave boy on duty, grab a glass of wine and go get dressed.

5:15: Mom realizes there's a stain on the dress and she doesn't have a short enough slip. Tearing into closets looking for more dresses. Mom hasn't worked out in a month because she had snot from hell and bronchitis, so nothing fits!!!

6:00: Mom finds stupid frumpy dress and breaks out the iron. Fortunately, PC had already been ironing (see, he irons too! I LOVE him!), so it was all set up and warm. GR & Milly arrive, Mom freaks out cuz it's already 6. LargeBoy has to be at church by 6:30 and Girl has to be there by 6:45 to get set up for orchestra (they did a phenomenal job, btw).

6:15: Frustrated, Mom goes downstairs to say hello and to check on the hunt for the tassell. Still missing!!!!!!!!!

6:25: Oh CRAP! LargeBoy and Girl are still home with no tassell and no time! GR takes them to church and reserves our pews..THANKS MAMA!!!! Finally settle on a different dress, still not amused, but it will do.

6:35: Go back downstairs and have another glass of wine with Milly and de-stress for a few minutes.

6:55: Pull up at church and actually FIND a parking space in front of Citations' house. Settle in just in time to hear Girl and the orchestra begin the prelude music. It was wonderful.

7:30: SmallBoy's asthma kicks in full force and PC, being the lovely wonderful stepdad that he is, runs all the way back home to grab the inhaler which Mom, in her crazed state of lunacy has forgotten.

It was a wonderful service and I am so proud of LargeBoy. This has been a long time in the making. Grammar geeks like me: Please forgive my inconsistent tenses. When I write at work, I, unfortunately don't even have a chance to "think" a rough draft. I'm sure you'll understand.