It's official. My youngest child has graduated high school and now I am dangerously close to the "empty nest" phase of my life. It took a lot of work both in raising these children and in getting ready for the festivities of this weekend!
I started out the week by working Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I stayed home from work and the preparations began in earnst. Wednesday found me on the lawn mower as the forecast was showing rain on Thursday and Friday so I wanted to get the lawn ALL mowed at least once before the party on Sunday. After working outdoors during the morning I found myself exhausted and succumbed to a quick nap in the afternoon. That evening we went to the baccalaureate at the high school. It wasn't too bad but wasn't as well attended compared to last year. This class is smaller than last year's but even at that, there was a greater attendance of the public alone at last year's baccalaureate.
Thursday came alone and Brenda and I were on a mission to get the church's outdoor planters looking fine. We met around noon at the Flower Cart to pick out plants. As it turned out, she had some errands to do that would keep her in town and so we decided to just go and spray paint the pots and do the planting while we were both in town. While the paint dried, she took a kid to the doctor and I had some other flower and music errands to check on. I then went to Casey's and grabbed a diet Coke and a cup of mini-chocolate chip cookies for lunch (hey, this is a vacation for me!). I then stopped in at the rectory to drop off a receipt and ended up visiting with Carolyn DeKruif for a while. It was good to catch up with her and her family's goings on. I don't often get the chance to sit and visit with her withouth one or both of us being in a hurry to get to our next task on our agendas. I then went up and stirred up the dirt a little and set the plants in the planters to see how we wanted placement. Once Brenda got back, we started transplanting them and were done in no time. We did a quick clean up of the garage and mess that we made, moved the pots back so that Fr. Miller could park in there that evening if he chose to stay overnight at Britt. They do look pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
Friday morning was here before we knew it and Mike and I went to morning mass and I had him help move the planters outside. It turned out to be perfect timing as it was just starting to rain so I haven't had to water them yet! We then went up to the Hobo House and joined Fr. Miller at the widow's table. Mike then had a load of pigs to get to Tyson and Reed and I headed over to Mason City to pick up some dress pants that fit him, pictures I had ordered for his party and groceries. While we were at Kohl's a storm was a brewing outside. We thought the wind was going to blow us back to Hancock County when we walked out the doors. I let Reed pick the place for lunch and we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings. After a leisurely lunch, we headed to my favorite place (all sarcasm intended!) -- Walmart. I had ordered pictures online there (it hit me while daydreaming at the baccalaureate that I had not even STARTED a picture board yet!) and had hoped Reed could pick them up Thursday when he came over to get his hair cut. Our paths didn't cross before he left on Thursday (my cell phone was dead!) so we made the trip to Mason on Friday to get them. I needed groceries for the party anyway, plus I had my "carry out" boy with me. Once we got home, I got to work on the picture board and set up the displays.
Saturday saw us forging ahead with final plans. I went up to the church in the morning after picking up Carmen Jamtgaard and the flowers. The two of us put out the flowers, spiffed up Mary's crown and the holy water decorations and bedecked the entries for the weekend. I put my song numbers up while I was there so I didn't have to get to the church 'super early' on Sunday morning. After that I got home and got into "whirling dirvish" mode. Floors were vacuumed and scrubbed, piano and shelves were dusted. Mike and Reed got busy pressure washing the garage and doing other things to tidy up outside. I mixed up Snickers salad base and Mike and I chopped Snickers and had them ready in a bowl for adding the next day. I got out all the serving dishes and plates, napkins, forks, etc. at the ready for the next day. Just as I sat down to take a breather, Mike pointed out that it's nice enough to mow. So, I planted my butt on the Exmark and was just finishing when Micah rolled into the yard. Soon after, I put the mower away, came in and showered and texted Gabby to see just where she was. She was only about 10 minutes away so finally we were all going to be home at once, even if it was just for a 24 hour period!
FINALLY, the big day came. Reed and I arose to get to the church early. I was the sole pianist/organist and Reed's class were the greeters. Upon arriving, we were surprised to see Ryan Klohbasa (sp?), the seminarian that was here last year for his pastoral year of study. Mass went well and the breakfast following was DELICIOUS! Afterwards we all came home and Mike started getting the pork loins ready to grill. The Dans (Dan Trulson and Dan Chizek) arrived to help cook the meat while we were at the commencement. The apples were chopped and added in the mega bowl of "dressing". All of a sudden, Reed disappeared. He was the FIRST student to arrive at the school. He just couldn't wait to get this party started! The commencement itself was short and sweet. I will have to say that the ceremony just doesn't have the same "Pomp and Circumstance" that it did when I was in school. I just can't get used to a bunch of kids standing around -- not even on risers -- singing a song that you would hear if you turned on the radio. Whatever happened to our standards of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" sung to live accompaniment and in four part harmonies? These songs are classics and she proceeded to tell me that I sound "old -- like Fr. Huber". I did point out that technically Fr. Huber is younger than myself which surprised her. There was just nothing about West Hancock's commencement that made really was spine-tingling or even the least bit "touching". I guess that's okay, at least I didn't cry.
We returned home where my sister, Deb, and her husband were already there and getting things lined up for the party which was good because Allan and Francis Doughan were there just shortly after we got home. They swore that our party was at 3 and even I had trouble convincing Allan that it was 4 (like I don't know when our own party starts!). I told them not to worry and come on in. About 20 minutes later, Frank, Shirley and Jeralyn Wellik came driving in, apologizing for being early but they were on their way home from Ankeny where they had been at a wedding this weekend. I told them to come on in, no problem. These people all beat even my parents to the party. Usually my mom and dad are waiting for us to get there and mom is barking out orders for everyone. So the party started earlier than expected and was steady right up until the end. I had to send Gabby to the grocery store for more fixins for snicker salad. I ended up with half a cake left, 15 buns, almost a half a pork loin, about half a bag of Doritos and a couple spoonfuls of snickers salad left. Whew! This year the people just didn't want to leave my kitchen! They stayed in there to eat and talk and talk and talk. Got to see some family we don't see every day and some friends that we don't get to visit nearly enough. It was a nice party and Reed got plenty of loot! Once everyone left, I sat with my feet up, ate a few leftovers and relaxed with a cold beverage.
Although it was nice to have a few days away from work last week, I have to admit that it was nice to get back in the routine today. Maybe early retirement is not for me...at least not yet anyway.
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