Bits and Pieces of Our Days (In Which Betsy Turns 18, Dons a Cap and Gown, and Her Godfather Gets the Flu)

Last week felt a little frantic.

* Monday: 

We needed to drive to Omaha for Betsy's graduation rehearsal. (Yes, we already celebrated her graduation with the big party, but we also like to participate in a ceremony with the regional Catholic homeschool group.) The only problem was that we still had two vehicles with broken windshields, blah, blah, blah. (I'm tired of talking about the hail storm and you're probably tired of hearing about it, right? But some of it figures into this story, so I'll try not to bore you.)

We did have at our disposal The Clunker, also known as the girls' car.  It's old and it sometimes seems a little rickety, but it runs. And it has a windshield! And it ran us to Omaha for the rehearsal without breaking down. Hurray! We spent a little time chatting with Jack, my kids' godfather, who was slated to be the master of ceremonies at Friday night's graduation. We then grabbed some dinner and drove home. The Clunker made it home, too! Hurray!

We got home, went to pick up the van, and lo and behold, it had a shiny new windshield and a new back passenger window. Hurray!

* Tuesday: 

Lovely live interview with the lovely Roxane Salonen on Real Presence radio. I love talking with Roxane -- I think she must rank somewhere in the top five sweetest people in the world.

Then -- another windshield fixed. Bam! Take that, hail. Safelite is my new hero. Anne and Betsy thought the guy who came to the house looked like Charlie Pace but I didn't notice anything like that. I was just in awe that -- once they actually made it to the house, several days after the storm because they've been so swamped -- those guys could slap a new windshield in so fast.

* Wednesday 

Betsy turned 18! Betsy turned 18?! Betsy turned 18. She really did. We celebrated. There was much chocolate.

* Wednesday and Thursday

Eye appointments for everyone! Ramona is getting glasses! They are purple! They are worthy of all these exclamation points!

Also? Clean the house! I must clean the house! Friends coming for dinner Thursday night!

I think there was water park stuff in there somewhere, too.

* Thursday 

Lovely, quick interview with the crew at Spirit Catholic Radio. Can you believe that Jen Brown had never heard of anyone screeching, "Jesus, I trust in Thee!"? I know, right?

Friends came over for dinner. Friends who then moved away on Saturday. My friends always move. This has been happening for longer than I care to think about. Anyway.... we had a great evening, with beautiful friends whom I will miss so much.

* Late Thursday Night 

Heaved a heavy sigh.

* Friday 

Graduation!

Our dented van with its incongruously beautiful new windshield spirited us to Omaha for the big graduation Mass and ceremony. I hadn't had time to bake anything for the reception so I picked up some of those sugar wafer cookie thingies that are full of artificial colors and flavors. You know the things I mean? Not real food. They were inhaled. Remind me to never bake for an event again. This stuff works.

On the downside, someone who ate no cookies that night was Jack. Jack, you see, along with his entire family, was too busy having stomach flu to venture out of the house.

Jack is better now, but it goes without saying that he did not emcee the ceremony. Poor Jack and poor Jack's entire family, and poor us, because we did not get to see any of them.

* Saturday 

A book store.
Trader Joe's.
Headed home.

* Sunday 

Happy Father's Day to Atticus! We took him out for a Reuben sandwich (we tried a new place, and the Reuben was only so-so) and a couple of beers and we all laughed a lot over dinner and generally felt grateful and happy to be together. He told me later that despite the so-so sandwich, the company was excellent and it was one of the best Father's Days he's ever had.

* This week? 

I plan to recover from last week.