Graduation Week Part 1

Well, it's been more than a while since i posted anything on my blog. I would really like to be more diligent with writing on here. Since my semester is over now I will get back to writing, but  i didn't want to write anything for a while there because i wrote so many papers, proposals, and assessments during this last semester. I needed a break. And, since i had been planning Erin's graduation parties and planning for family to come, i had zero time and desire to write anything. But....now school is over, graduation is done, and family that was visiting are all back home. So, it's back to normal around here (whatever that is, lol).

My semester ended in May and I wound up on the Dean's list again ;-).( My GPA is now 3.9). I also gave up my position as President of the Human Services Honor Society, thank God. But, i took the office position of Historian...which is really nothing more than a glorified picture taker. At least i am still an officer, but this way i have, like, zero responsibility. The next semester i will be taking only two classes so that i can focus on Rachel. Since it will be her last year of homeschooling before she will go off to high-school, I feel that i need more time devoted for her and less for me. Once she goes to high-school, i will finish my school full-time and then, hopefully, get a job in the Human Services field. I think i have a year of school and a half-year of internships before i can graduate. Well, enough about me....Erin will be joining me at Del Tech next semester for her first year of college. I can't wait for her to experience college life. I think she will really enjoy the experience.

For those who don't know, Erin graduated high school on June 9th as the salutatorian of her class. We are beyond proud of her! We wanted as much family and friends around her as possible at this special time in her life, so we invited like 15 extra people to come to the graduation ceremony and then had a party for her the following Saturday. My in-laws were scheduled to arrive on Tues morning from Southern Florida and my parents and sister and niece were scheduled to arrive on Tues evening from North-Western Forida. So, the week before they were all scheduled to arrive.....the cleaning began, lol. The house needed to be spring-cleaned anyway, but my parents and in-laws had not been to my house in years and i really wanted to impress them....and wash away like two years of un-spring-cleaned dirt in certain areas. Everything got washed, including the ceilings, which took me like six hours one day. Finally, everything got done (except the window sills, i forgot about them) and the house looked great. I was ready to entertain! My in-laws arrived on time, so i spent the first part of Tuesday with them. It was really nice to see them, since we had not really seen each other for a couple of years. Our last couple of visits were not that great (mostly my fault) and i had some apologizing to do...which I did...and was promptly forgiven :-) So, I truly did enjoy my in-laws, and i'm truly looking forward to more good visits.

My parent's and sister's plane was delayed so they did not arrive until almost 1 a.m. That was not too pleasant, especially since we got a flat tire on the way to get them from the airport, which is an hour away! We were on the side of the highway at midnight, trucks were wizzing past at what seemed like 100 miles an hour, and all i could picture was one of the truck drivers dozing off and swerving off the road and hitting my van while Steve was trying to change the tire! Rachel and I hopped over the guardrail to try to stay safe while we watched Steve start to jack up the van to put the donut back on. The van was almost jacked all the way up and then *bam* the jack breaks and the van comes crashing down! Thank God we are members of AAA and they came and changed our tire only 13 minutes after we called. By the time we got to the airport, it was sooooo late that Dad and Mom already had gotten their rental car and drove off to Uncle Denny's house and Kathy and Erica were waiting outside for us. It was so great to see them, it felt like forever, but it had been almost a whole year since i've seen them. We got them in the van and me and my sister just started talking and talking and pretty much didn't stop until i brought them back to the airport five days later, lol. I didn't get to see my parents until the next day when they came over for dinner before the graduation. It was so great to see them! My only regret is that i really did not get to spend  that much time with my parents :-( but it really couldn't be helped.

Well, i'm tired so i will blog about the rest of the graduation/family week tomorrow. Good night...and i promise, i''ll be back soon and much more often. Till then:
Tonight i am thankful for:
1. My sister, who is my best friend
2. My parents, who i don't get to see near enough
3. My Erin, who always works hard to be the person she wants to be, even when the going gets tough!! I'm so proud of the young woman she has become! Thank you my darling daughter for a wonderful week.