But first, a recap.
Mary's Open House
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| Open House Displays |
The Greens arrived last week to spend some time with us before Mary's Open House last Saturday. And to help us get the Open House ready. Like making lots of cookies and arranging tables and displays and putting up signs and things like that.
Cheryl's sister Sandra drove all the way from Iowa just to be there as well. She showed up right on time to help with the setup. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it.
Our dear friend Carolyn Shapin also came over to help out. So we had quite a crew to get things ready!
It was a very nice Open House. Food, family, friends, and lots of artwork and things hanging up all over the place to show people what Mary had been up to all those years in high school.
Doc Sawyer showed up, which was a very pleasant surprise.
And Mary's piano teacher, Ms Geerdes, too. She's such a sweetie!
I'd say it was a successful Open House.
Sunday is Grill Time
On Sunday afternoon our dear friends, the Shapins, came over for dinner, and so we got to sit around on the back deck and eat grilled goodies and stuff ourselves with fresh veggies and go catatonic with the scrumptious desserts which had been prepared for us.
Us old folks took over the back porch, leaving the interior of the house for the younger set to sit around gabbing and playing board games. The slight breeze kept us all comfortable, and there were no bugs to bug us.
Later, after the sun had gone down and we had all gone inside again, Grandma Green was able to show Audrey (Mr Shapin's wonderful mom) some web tools to track family ancestry through census records. It was kind of cool to see the census records showing her as a little girl in a New York walk-up!
Memorial Day
I was up early on Memorial Day because it was a beautiful day and there were so many things to do. Like work on cars. But first I made sure that the flags were out.
After all, it is important to remember what this day is really all about.
Most of the morning was spent puttering around in the house, working on various basement projects and car projects and shopping projects. I focused mainly on my car, since I needed it to get out of the garage in order to work on Adam's car. Everyone else worked on the basement, fixing trim or setting up the suite bedroom for Mom & Dad's impending arrival.
The Meyers arrived on the afternoon of Memorial Day, after a long drive up from Indiana. Or something. So we stood around and visited until it was time for dinner. Or something. And then ... and then ... what did we do? I can't remember. But I'll bet there was apple pie and ice cream involved.
Honor Awards
On Tuesday, we all attended Mary's Honor Awards ceremony over at the High School. So we got to see a bunch of friends (both student and parent) and look at the artwork that was exhibited in the foyer -- a couple of which were done by Mary! -- and then go in the auditorium and listen to the staff and administration tell us how wonderful our children are. Which we already knew. But this time, they made the kids tell everyone what scholarships they got, and which school they were going to.
Interestingly enough, there were only two undecided, and one who had decided to attend the Naval Academy. Everyone was excited about the latter; it's always a big deal when one of the top kids makes that choice. I was hoping someone would also go into the Air Force Academy, but with the close proximity of several lakes in Michigan, there seems to be a lot more interest in boats than in planes.
After all the hubbub, we went home again and celebrated (again) with desserts. Is there any ice cream left? Pie? Can we leave some for breakfast in the morning?
Graduation
Finally, the Big Day dawned, and the family spent most of the day puttering around the house (I think the grandfathers were in the basement playing with the trim again) while I played with cars. After dinner, we headed over to the school stadium for the graduation ceremony.
Some of the party went on ahead and scouted out some good seats (next to the Shapins, of course) while the rest of us took our sweet time. We got there in plenty of time to wander around and say hello to various people we knew, both from church and from school. And Cheryl said hello to all the kids she knew from her stint in the Music department at the high school.
The graduation speakers were funny, especially the teacher they picked out to address them. Everyone spoke on the same theme, of course - going out into the world and making your mark, being yourself, etc. I wonder how many will remember this in four years as they are receiving their college diplomas?
Then they started marching the kids through the assembly line. Walk up to the table, hand over your card (which tells the announcer how to pronounce your name), walk a few feet to the person holding your diploma, grab it and run --- no, just shake hands and move on to the next administrator person, shake their hand, and so on, until you get to the little cardboard square on the ground that tells you where to stand while they take your "professional" graduation picture (the one they'll later give you the opportunity to purchase).
(I kept running into people I knew. And wanted to chat with. So it actually took me nearly twenty minutes to get to the car, where Cheryl was patiently (?) waiting.)
Afterward, we went home and celebrated again. I think there was cheesecake this time. And cookies.
Day of Departure
Bright and early Thursday morning, all the grandparents packed up and left, with many miles to go before they stopped.
And we were sad.
But happy at the same time.
Because they were able to share in this wonderful moment in the life of their granddaughter. And let Mary know how much she is loved.
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3 comments:
That second picture of Mary at graduation-- the sweet smile and the pretty curve of her jawline-- sure reminds me of Judy!
Sounds like you guys had a great time. Go forth and conquer, Mary!!!
I see what you see, Jeanne, however, I must say Mary has way better hair. You've got hair that thick and wavy. Mary got all the best Meyer traits. And I do believe she and her daddy have the same smile as well. (btw, I originally posted under another alias and then deleted the post and logged in as my blogger alias, that's why there's a deleted post)
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