Misc

1. Son #1 graduated on Friday night. When the graduates marched in, I almost lost it, almost started crying, but I held it together. It's kinda weird, being on the other side. I don't have vivid memories of my HS graduation, but I do remember that I had very similar feelings to what my son has expressed-- that it's alot of hype and that the ceremonies are fairly meaningless. I wasn't unwilling to go, and I knew it was a big deal for my parents, so I did go and I'm sure there are at least 100 pictures (slides) in the family archive to mark the occasion (My dad took pictures galore, all the time, anytime-- I can just imagine if he had lived during the era of the digital camera). So son #1 did the same thing, even coming home to do 5 hours of school service to earn the privilege of attending graduation after the alarm clock fiasco. And my mother and DH and I were able to swell with pride and admire the man he has become. I wasn't expecting to feel this emotional, but it was truly one of the most joyous moments of my life as a parent.

2. After graduation, son #1 went to a party, an all-night event. He called us at 5:45 to let us know he was leaving to drive back to camp because he needed to be there at 8:00. While I was a little concerned about him driving after very little or no sleep, I had to admire his sense of responsibility. I also realized that we have to trust him, his judgements, because he is heading off to college and we won't be involved in these decisions anymore. So joyous moment quickly followed by difficult moment when I knew I had to let go a little more.

3. My mom went back to Florida yesterday afternoon, but not before we indulged in some "retail therapy." My mom is a champion shopper, especially on someone else's buck! We did have fun and I did buy some clothes to fill in some holes in my wardrobe.

4. When I got back from taking mom to the airport, the house was awful quiet. Yes my kids are Gone For The Summer (GFTS). And in celebration, I opened a jar of mayonnaise. Both of my kids hate mayonnaise, they going running at the sight or smell of it. But with them GFTS, I made cole slaw with real dressing with mayonnaise instead of an asian-style slaw with an oil/vinegar dressing.

5. I found this awesome website-- Vegetarian Mealplans. I haven't prepared any of these recipes yet, but they seem to be perfect for weekday meals. I'm already thinking about tempeh sloppy joes!