GRADUATION!!! (and other "stuff"!!)

The big day arrives tomorrow -- Morgan graduates from Howard Community College with two associate's degrees, one in Interior Design and the other in Art History.  She has plugged on through some very difficult times and difficult classes (and we won't mention some of the professors' character qualities!!), but is graduating with a 3.9- something GPA.  The "something" part is because the grades for her last two classes haven't been posted yet, but I'm sure she'll do just fine.  We're all excited about this big step in her life.  It may not sound like much to many people, but this is a gal who originally told us in high school that she would NEVER go to college, and saw absolutely no reason to do so. Now to be graduating with such a high GPA, plans to transfer to George Mason University and hopes to get both her bachelor's and master's -- AND hopes to teach at the college level some day -- well, what a huge change for her!!  We couldn't be more proud of her!!

Morgan and I met today with the gal who's going to be helping us plan the wedding.  After my huge upset over the weekend regarding the delay in the bridesmaid dresses, it felt really good to sit down and cover the big list of things that ARE under my control!!  We're making back-up plans for other dresses, just in case, but at least Morgan's dress is here in town, at the dressmaker's shop, being altered........  If HER dress is OK, we'll make everything else work out........ Breathe, relax, focus....... !!!

My parents flew in today from Florida for the graduation.  Their flight was supposed to leave around 12:45.  However, after they boarded, the pilots found something wrong with the navigation system and had to have a part brought in from Orlando.  Why they had to deliver it by DRIVING it to Sarasota (a three hour drive) instead of maybe a helicopter is a mystery to me.  They made everyone get off the plane and wait in the airport for the part to arrive and be installed.  The flight ended up not leaving until nearly 5 pm.  My poor mom and dad!!  They were so exhausted by the time they got into town that they just grabbed some dinner and went straight to the hotel.  We'll get to see them a lot over the next few days, but what a disappointment not to be able to get together tonight.  I hope they get a good night's sleep!!

We're hoping for good weather for the graduation tomorrow.  The ceremony will be held in a very large tent outside of the college.  The weather forecast is for nearly 90 degrees (ouch!!) and the possibility of occasional thunderstorms.  I hope any storms will hold off until AFTER the ceremony!!  I'd rather not be outside with storms and lightning!!

Pictures tomorrow of the graduation!!  Right now, I need to get some SLEEP!!

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Life at my house......

.....is always interesting and constantly changing, it seems. My original plan for last week and the upcoming few weeks had been to finish lesson plans and then begin homeschooling today. Then in 3 or 4 weeks, we would give Mackenzie a 5 or 6 day break and send her to Florida to stay with grandparents. And you know what they say about the best-laid plans!!

My migraine, of course, took an enormous chunk (5 days) out of my scheduled lesson-planning time. As I sat last night, contemplating how I would do lesson plans this week AND send Mackenzie to Florida in late September (which would effectively mean losing two weeks of school time right at the beginning of the school year -- far from ideal!!), it dawned on me that maybe I could just send her sooner, while I'm trying to get the lesson plans done, and lose less time that way. Hmmmm...... I wonder.......

So here's a portion of the ridiculous e-mail I sent to my parents last night:

And it's time for another episode of............."The Crazy Life and Times of Pam Llewellyn"!!! The continuing saga of the twists and turns my life takes, the unexpected obstacles placed in my path, and the never-ending quest to find some semblance of sanity in my day-to-day life.

Today's episode -- After surviving a four-day migraine, Pam finds herself at the crossroads. School was SUPPOSED to start tomorrow; however, after spending four days flat on her back, lesson plans are nowhere near complete, causing the loss of several days of school this week. Upon evaluating the upcoming schedule, trying to figure out where to squish in an entire lost week, she decides on a desperate act -- to throw herself on the mercy of her parents and beg for them to take her youngest daughter into their care at the very last moment, thus allowing her the possibility of getting some organization accomplished before the re-scheduling of the beginning of the school year, now tentatively set for next week!!


OK, is that loony enough?? I literally am just coming back out of this stupid headache -- I cannot believe this had happened yet again, but it appears that my changing hormones are causing me to have a tendency to develop monster migraines. My suppressed sense of humor is now coming out In wacky ways, and I just couldn't resist this!!



After talking with my folks on the phone this AM AND after doing some quick on-line searching for airfare, plans have been made to put Mackenzie on a plane to Florida this Thursday -- her first ever plane trip all by herself! Of course, we've signed up for the flight attendants to watch her as an "unaccompanied minor", but boy is she ever excited!! After the last few years, she's become a fairly experienced traveler, but this is huge and exciting to her!

Then on Saturday, my hubby, oldest daughter and I are taking a red-eye special (bus trip!!) to New York City for the day. My husband will be doing a lot of tourist-y, sightseeing type of stuff; my daughter and I have tickets to go see "Wicked"! Wow!! To say we're excited is an understatement!! We CANNOT WAIT to see this!!