These last few days have been taken up with family in town celebrating my sister Julie's graduation from Brigham Young University; she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, which is a free pass to teach anywhere in the state of Utah (or anywhere else, given that she becomes credentialed in that state). Not only did we all enjoy seeing Julie walk across that stage to get her diploma, we also enjoyed being together again. My parents, my sister Shelley, and my nephew Jett roadtripped up from Redlands, CA and spent four glorious days in Provo.
Jett and Jack had a sweet reunion. Jack could not stop leaning into Jett for romantic kisses, and Jett loved jumping on Jacko's bed. Jack and Jett held hands to walk anywhere, though sometimes Jack's hands-on lovin' got Jett down sometimes (he told his mom, "Meemaw, want to sit on my lap" [meaning, get me away from Jack!] more than once). Jett was also excited to see baby Lucy and asked to hold her first thing every morning. Lucy loves Jett. Jacko loves Jett. I love Jett.
The actual graduation day was not as hectic as I was expecting. Julie's convocation started at 8 am, and they asked that everyone be seated by 7:30. Caleb helped me get the kids ready, which included putting together two full bags of diapers and treats, and I left the house at 7:10. For those who have kids, you know how hard that can be. For those who don't, I know that 7:10 was a difficult departure time for me when it was only me. My dad watched Lucy while I spent the entire program walking around outside with Jack; I was glad for that turn of events afterwards, when I heard that the speeches and music were not appealing in any way. We watched Julie graduate, with Jack shouting "Julie graduates!" without any sense of Beverly Hills, 90210 irony.
Here is what Jack spent a majority of the post-graduation schmoozing doing. During this particular picture, he told me he was building a sand castle. Won't his mind be blown come June when we actually go to a southern California beach where there is real sand?
We also got to celebrate my cousin Brittany's graduation in Communication Studies. She is a gem of a girl who is going on to get a master's degree at BYU. I joke that she is the family pantser, due to her hatred of boys' baggy pants, but I definitely do not joke about how smart and pretty she is.
I have a hard time being reconnected with Shelley, only to have her ripped away from me by geographical distance. She is 15 months younger than me and has always held my hand during the things in life I didn't want to do: go to middle school, talk to a grocery store cashier, and the list goes on. I am a chicken, okay? Anyway, now that I am relatively well-adjusted and enjoying my life, I want to share that with her. She lives in Pasadena, which just happens to not be Provo. Sure, it is nice to have the two little boys play together, but I, more selfishly, want to play with my sister. The way Julie and Shelley's faces look here? That's how my heart feels -- sheepishly in love with a sad twist.
I give Julie mad props for graduating college. She deserves every good thing, and I love that she is doing her part to go out and get it all. And you know girl's gonna get it, what with these hot shoes and all.
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