jeepers creepers, y’all

there’s a song that says the beginning is the very best place to start, so here goes.

Thursday, May 3rd: I take my last final, pack up my room, do some laundry, and leave campus. The goal is to surprise my family at the airport. Flight is supposed to land at 5. Some friends and I go see other friends in “Fiddler on the Roof".” Very fun. Spent the night with AJ.

Friday: hang out with AJ and kids, friend picks me up at 4:30 so we can go to the airport and meet my family coming in at 5…which then gets changed to 6.
Friend and I pick up other friend. find out family’s flight is indefinitely delayed. Friends and I go meet other friends for movie, after confessing to Dad that I’m meeting them at the airport.

During movie, sister texts me and tells me the plane broke down and they are waiting for first a replacement plane and then a crew. Movie ends; dad texts that they are finally on a plane. friends and I go to Liquor Barn.

Friends and I leave. I’m dying to see fam. Friends {guys} want food first. Grr.

Dad texts: they've landed! I tell friends to drive like whoa to the airport, NOW.

We get there: there are hugs all around. Friends leave, and my fam and I head for hotel.

Saturday: packing! It only takes a couple hours to pack everything, which is great. Mom and Dad take a load to my new host home, and I show sisters around the campus.

3:00pm- graduation rehearsal. Wait in gym….walk down to other gym…walk into gym…stand and wait for other graduates to walk in…joke about not wearing heels…finally sit down… listen to staff talk about how the ceremony will go….random cheers because we graduate TOMORROW. get dismissed. find family. leave for church-town.

6:30pm- graduation party! everyone from the church comes and meets my family and we grill food and laugh and talk and take pictures and hold babies and have general happiness.

9:30pm- post-party game of quelf. if you have not played this game, then shut your computer and go get a life because you need to play this game. end of story. it was amazing. andddd best part is my sisters got addicted so I’m expecting this game when I arrive home {hint hint}.

Sunday- GRADUATION DAY!!!!

Fam goes to church, gets introduced, then we split like a banana and head back to campus so I can be lined up in time. BARELY make it, and then there are pictures and gasps and shrieks and general freaking out hysterics. We’re about to graduate, ok. it was scary awesome. then all of a sudden we’re walking. past the faculty who are cheering us and waving at us. down the stairs, carefully not falling. pausing before the door, realizing that we’re entering the room as students and going to exit the room as graduates. slowly entering, letting each couple of students get “stoled” by staff and then walking down the long aisle waving at family and smiling hugely. finding my seat and being glad my sis let me use her flat sandals. standing and cheering for others as they enter. being very grateful when the college president finally stands and motions for us to sit.
the long and the short of it is this: I graduated. the fun part is, I got Magna Cum Laude {3.750-3.899}!!!! I was scared that I wouldn't get it, but hoorah! this semester’s labor paid off.

graduation was a long ceremony, but my grandparents and BFF got to watch the important parts, and my fam and I had to suffer through the rest… jk. there were just a LOT of B.A.s to bestow. Anywho, there were tons of pictures and introductions and laughs afterwards, and then my fam and I went to dinner. it was lovely. and then back to the hotel for sleep!

Monday, we packed up the rest of everything and headed to church-town. my fam dropped me off and said goodbye {yes, I cried a little- can’t help it}. then I hung with AJ again.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were just kinda get used to this no-school thing. there were babysitting adventures galore. It was great. And Thursday afternoon, my sister arrived! this is the sis who couldn't come to graduation because she’s in a leadership school and they’re driving around the country doing ministry stops. Well, they stopped here! I got to hang with them alllllll weekend, and Monday morning had to tearfully say goodbye {yep, I cried again}.

Yesterday was laundry day, with a Mary Kay party in the evening. Oh yeah and then excitement after that, but that will be a separate post.

jeepers creepers. THAT was my life. crazy. everything happened so fast. I was falling asleep yesterday and thinking that the past 10 days have been the most extreme roller coaster of emotions and sleep and everything. I said hello to my family, goodbye to fellow classmates, hello to my sis, hello to my friends, hello to tornado clean up, goodbye to my sister and friends, and in another week-ish I’ll say hello to AJ’s baby. jeepers creepers.