Girls with no pockets begin producing phones, hats, jackets, banners. I mean, I know where a girl with no pockets stores her carry on items, but some of these were extreme! I had nothing to produce but a cell phone, and I'd requested Max store it in his actual pockets since guys really got the better end of that exchange. I had messages from parents directing me down to the base of the gym. Great! I knew exactly where that was! Getting there was the tricky part. Fighting through streams and hoards of families, winding up in a lot of family photos, pissing off lots of grandmas. All in a days work, really. But it certainly is tough work.
Eventually we spotted our family and made quick work of shoving people out of the way to get there. Parents were snapping pictures and shouting about "now this relative, no not your uncle, your cousin." My parents were hosting an "open house" lunch/party for the two of us. It started at 1 pm, and since I'd believed the ceremony would be done by 10:30, I was mildly overwhelmed to think of all the goodbyes I now had to cram into the time between noon and 1! We traipsed over to the bell tower once again for some pictures ringing the bell in our full regalia. Then it was back over to the music building to get the group shots with those who we spent most of the last four years with. Thankfully everyone was still there! We did photo after photo and hug after hug.
There's really no accurate way to describe the feeling of graduating college and leaving all your friends. You feel elated because the four years of hard work are finally over and you're (hopefully) starting a grand new adventure in your life, be it job, more school, or a travelling adventure. Fear, because of the exact same reason. This is the first time you'll really have to fend for yourself. Sure, sure, you were "on your own" in college. But there was a cafeteria, very few, if any, bills. You were even with all of your friends, so you were all "on your own" together. It's the last time in your life where you will be surrounded by people who are in the same season of life as you. That shit's scary. Then you have to walk away from these great friends you made. Goodbyes are never easy, especially with friendships made so quickly and so meaningful.
Once we wrapped up the goodbyes, Max and I headed to a local hotel to meet up with our families. The parents were throwing us a party/open house sort of deal. They'd booked one of the big rooms, ordered from Rib Crib, and decorated like nobody's business. Ross and Britelle brought their families, which made it even better! Charlie compiled a slideshow of tiny Maxwell and I from pictures provided by the moms. Sadly, the hotel lied about it's technology, so we viewed it on his laptop instead of projecting it. Still it blew our socks off! They'll continue to search for and add the most embarrassing pictures to have at the wedding, which will be amazing.
After the lunch was over, Max and I headed back to the apartment. His brothers went with him, and I brought Julie back with me. Everybody met our delightful kittens! Loki is finally bigger than Amelia! She topped out around 8 1/2 lbs and Loki finally made it up to about 11 1/2! The funniest part was that Max and I had no idea he was so big until the vet weighed him! It was nice for the kittens to get to meet everyone before we moved.
I had dinner with my dad's family. I took them downtown to Elote for some puffy tacos! Then we went over to Mod's for gelato. It was really great to spend some time with dad's family. They haven't all been together since Matthew's funeral, so it was amazing to gather on a positive note.
When I got back with Max's brothers, they were at El Guapo's wrapping up dinner. We wandered around looking for a calm place for drinks, but wound up just back at the hotel to play some Avalon.
Having such a joyous celebration with family and friends was just what I needed. It's been a lot of heart break for a while, it was time for an uptake. This is a new chapter of our life. A new beginning. A huge adventure. Let's get the party started.
Once we wrapped up the goodbyes, Max and I headed to a local hotel to meet up with our families. The parents were throwing us a party/open house sort of deal. They'd booked one of the big rooms, ordered from Rib Crib, and decorated like nobody's business. Ross and Britelle brought their families, which made it even better! Charlie compiled a slideshow of tiny Maxwell and I from pictures provided by the moms. Sadly, the hotel lied about it's technology, so we viewed it on his laptop instead of projecting it. Still it blew our socks off! They'll continue to search for and add the most embarrassing pictures to have at the wedding, which will be amazing.
After the lunch was over, Max and I headed back to the apartment. His brothers went with him, and I brought Julie back with me. Everybody met our delightful kittens! Loki is finally bigger than Amelia! She topped out around 8 1/2 lbs and Loki finally made it up to about 11 1/2! The funniest part was that Max and I had no idea he was so big until the vet weighed him! It was nice for the kittens to get to meet everyone before we moved.
I had dinner with my dad's family. I took them downtown to Elote for some puffy tacos! Then we went over to Mod's for gelato. It was really great to spend some time with dad's family. They haven't all been together since Matthew's funeral, so it was amazing to gather on a positive note.
When I got back with Max's brothers, they were at El Guapo's wrapping up dinner. We wandered around looking for a calm place for drinks, but wound up just back at the hotel to play some Avalon.
Having such a joyous celebration with family and friends was just what I needed. It's been a lot of heart break for a while, it was time for an uptake. This is a new chapter of our life. A new beginning. A huge adventure. Let's get the party started.
