Fall

We got to see Elizabeth!!!  Parents' Weekend was amazing!  It was so incredibly fulfilling to see Elizabeth's Knox life, to see how she is thriving!  We met 14 of her 15 suitemates and found every one of them, bright, motivated, fun, and positive!  We went to the men's soccer game because her very good friend plays on the team!  We ate out quite a bit!  We went shopping!  I attended a Race and Culture class!  We played What's in a meme? in our hotel lobby!  We observed her suite play "How well do you know your roommate?"!  I thought the most precious moment was when asked, "Name one thing your roommate does that annoys you," and both E and Angel wrote "nothing."  We watched them play trivia night and come so close to winning a prize!  We ran into the men's basketball coach - twice - and posed on the court to let Michael know we hadn't forgotten him.  (In fact, the coach is the one who took the photo and made sure there was plenty of Knox-related signage in the background.)  Elizabeth is such a grateful, appreciative person, she is always such a joy to be around.  She encourages everyone and laughs often. She studied for a test during one of our lunches bu

t didn't get worked up about it.  She seems to have completely adapted to college life in only a few short weeks.  I marvel at the life she has created for herself, considering she knew no one before arriving a few short weeks ago.  She graciously spent so much time with us, and we loved our Friday-Sunday visit.  I would have loved to know Elizabeth when I was in college. We did catch her napping once, so we may have worn her out.  We cannot wait to see her again.  Every single day we talk about it.

I spent four days in San Diego, visiting Regina.  It's as if we talk on the phone every day, how easy it is to be with her.  We try to be mature and talk about adult things, like parenting and marriage and careers and world politics.  But sometimes we find ourselves regressing back to our rather immature moments of college and we laugh and laugh and laugh, to the point that others around us stare.  Although I have seen Regina many times since she moved to San Diego, this was the first time I went to her La Jolla home.  It is beautiful, about 3 minutes from the ocean.  We hiked and walked and noticed everyone was passing us on the trails ... but we doubted anyone was having as much fun as we were!  We did get locked in the San Diego Girl Scouts' headquarters parking lot (Regina is the GS board's chair) but we found that amusing as well.  She is an adjunct for San Diego University, teaching employment law and also contracts.  I got to see her classroom and listen to her groan when grading midterms.  I watched Maya (her 13 year old daughter) play field hockey, my first ever such game!  I truly consider Regina a sister.

Since receiving Michael's highlight reel, college coaches continue to contact him for recruiting purposes.  Wittenberg, the winningest DIII basketball team in that division's history, invited him to participate in their elite camp.  Thirty high schoolers attended the day camp and showed their skills, while the coaches attempted to woo them if they liked what they saw.  Steven and Michael both loved the campus and the coaches.  It must make Michael feel so good to know multiple schools are interested in him, especially because he is only a junior.  Scott County's official practices begin tomorrow, although they have had Open Gym practices for months. 

Steven has a fairly high standard to reach.  He spent so many months investigating colleges for Elizabeth, based on her interests and other criteria (e.g., "it must have an extremely diverse student body"), before narrowing it down to the final ten they visited.  Knox seems like an ideal fit for Elizabeth, so now Steven must figure out an equally ideal match for Michael!  He has his work cut out for him, but as always, he takes on this latest project with optimism and joy!  The man amazes me.

The next phase in Elizabeth's life's journey

Elizabeth returned from California and began her good byes.  She hung out with her friends, stayed up late talking to Michael, attended one final Georgetown College class, and made some
last meal requests.  She packed lightly, finished her summer reading assignment, and switched bedrooms with Michael.  

Steven and I drove with her to Knox.  We passed the windmills, ate ice cream at McDonald's, and eventually arrived in Galesburg.  She checked in, got her keys, and watched upperclassmen (and upperclasswomen) carry her luggage to her room.  She unpacked, met her R.A., and began her celebration of newfound freedom and independence!!!

Steven warned me not to cry in front of Elizabeth (have I ever cried?) because that would upset her and cause her to miss us more than she needed to.  I held it together until the designated "Time for Goodbye" activity.  But he was wrong!  Elizabeth cheerfully hugged us, told us she loved us, and posed for a photo with Steven.  As the tears flooded my face, she energetically bounded away to meet her orientation group.


Elizabeth texts and/or calls each day.  We love to hear about her new friends from around the globe (her 15 suitemates are from Russia, India, Pakistan, Cuba, Vietnam, Japan, and states around the US), who are teaching her about their home country's culture and customs.  She loves her roommate, Angel, who hails from Chicago.  She has cheered at athletic events, attended Opening Convocation, and heard a lecture by Civil Rights activist Elizabeth Eckford.  



I think the Human Rights Village has been so good for her because of the instant connection she has with all 15 of her suite mates (although she only has to share a bathroom with 3 of them).  I think if you are interested in human rights, you have a certain perspective and outlook that cuts across many areas of life, as opposed to other subjects (like math? or literature?) where your interest in that field doesn't necessarily predict your viewpoint on other areas of life.  So I feel like Elizabeth has found like-minded souls who share her interests and values beyond just one subject of study.

Elizabeth requested a Painting class but it was full.  She asked a professor if she could be added to his Schools and Society course.  He explained that first-term freshmen are not allowed into the class, but that he had checked her transcript and writing and made an exception!  The course will emphasize the role that class and race play in educational opportunities and experiences in America.  She is pumped about this class!  Yesterday her Human Rights course watched a movie about race and law enforcement … she read the book earlier this year.  One day she wrote "I love my psychology class!"  The most lovely curriculum-related text she has sent is the one that stated "I love learning again."  Her favorite building is the library, which she loved most the first time she toured Knox.  Be still, my academic heart.

Oh how we miss her and oh how we talk about her all the time.  We simply cannot wait - not one more day - to see her during Parents Weekend!  Two suitcases and some boxes are already crammed full, ready for the trip.  They are not my suitcases and boxes or Steven's suitcases and boxes; they contain all the requests for food and clothing Elizabeth has made since school began.  Yes, ramen noodles are inside.

Go Prairie Fire!

Summer 2018

One of life's intriguing aspects is how amazing moments can stem from painful experiences.  Case in point: The purpose of my siblings' visits with their family members this summer was to work through mom's estate, yet I have so many beautiful memories of our time together. 

Elizabeth stopped working at Cane's and really, really wanted to visit California.  Mary graciously invited her to stay with them about a week.  On her last evening with them, Elizabeth texted that she did not want to leave at all.  She leaves for Knox in two days and will surely carry with her many wonderful memories of her trip to CA and her time with relatives in Kentucky.

 

Solo to Cali

I can't remember traveling alone for a vacation since I got married.  Twenty five years later, I did just that and had a fabulous time (no offense to my beloved family, of course).  It was a trip meant to be, as I arrived at the very moment Bennett and Tiffany's family were hosting their going-away party at a nearby park.  So Mary and I showed up and were able to see all of them as well as meet many of their friends, who were so smart, interesting, and likable.  Such a fun party!  I was so glad the timing worked out.

I spent most of my days at Mary's, where I got to spend lots of time with Kate and Aaron.  Fun activities included tennis, biking, swimming (Mary and I were the lifeguards), race car driving (Mary and I were the observers), and a Stanford tour, which included an awesome same-sex statues display.  Aaron has a very cool hover board/go-cart thingy that the majority of people we passed either blatantly stared at it or asked questions about it.  I can't believe I didn't take a photo!  It was good to see Mark, and Father's Day dinner was spent at a nearby seafood restaurant.

Kate and I took some very long walks, during which we created a picture dictionary.  For example, these were our photos for Hydrant and Mailbox.  Impressive, right?

Even more impressive ... Bennett arranged for a tour of the Tesla plant in Fremont.  Wow.  (Sorry I made his family look into the sun when I took the photo outside the plant.) I can't wait for Steven to go on the tour - he would have the most insightful comments about what he saw and heard, given his 25+years at Toyota.
I got to spend the night at B&T's home.  They were so gracious to stay up until midnight talking with me, giving me much appreciated and thoughtful suggestions for a work situation, even though they had approximately 5820 tasks to complete before leaving for Amsterdam a few days later.  Mary and her kids came down the next day and I was struck by the synergy of the five children playing together.  Such beautiful, funny, engaging children.  No arguments, no bickering, no disagreements.  How does that happen?  Everyone in Bennett's family is so excited about their overseas adventure, and I am so excited to visit them next summer!

Can you find Kate in the tree?

Can you even begin to imagine how much fun I had?  SOO much laughing.

Thank you, amazing California relatives, for all you did so I could have a most incredible solo vacation!  I'll be back for sure.  If I knew how to insert heart emojis into this post, I would add about 1000 of them.

A beautiful girl and 12 years of very hard work

Elizabeth's graduation was more fun, emotional, and exciting than any graduation I have attended (and I've attended 22 at Georgetown College alone!).  The lead-up to the actual event was also fun, emotional, and exciting.

For example, this is Elizabeth going graduation dress shopping with me in Lexington.  She did not choose the dress in the photo even though I was convinced she would love it.  I laughed when she told me the only reason she even tried it on was because I asked her to.  At least she was polite about it.

This is Elizabeth getting her ears pierced many times because she is 18 and graduating and that is the deal I made with her. 

This is Elizabeth driving to graduation.  Magical fairies apparently gifted her with a heart crown.

The Kentucky Horse Park Arena easily fit the Class of 2018 graduates.  More than 500 of them!

Elizabeth graduated summa cum laude, awarded to those with GPAs over 4.0.

Then it was all over but the celebrating and staying up all night with friends.

Elizabeth and Rain, her best friend. 

Elizabeth and Emily, her pretty much lifelong friend (see previous blog entry).








Elizabeth and more friends.












Rosemary, Terry, and Angie came to Elizabeth's graduation.  Angie recognized several names from the program due to hearing stories attending various events of E and M's over the years.  







Not a day has passed since May 04, 2000 that we have not known how fortunate we are to be Elizabeth's parents, and we forever welcome any opportunity to spend time with her.  But it was especially nice to have a formal occasion to reflect on how hard she has worked the past 18 years.  We could not be more proud ... elated ... joyous ... teary ... excited ... awestruck ... wistful ... delighted.