And THEN......

Within a few days of graduation, the Girl and I hopped aboard yet another plane and headed back across the pond.  I had asked her last year what she'd like for a graduation gift, and she had only one request - to visit Salzburg, Austria and do the Sound of Music tour.  It's been her favorite movie since she was a toddler - a "happy place movie" she never tires of watching.  Amazingly, God saw fit to station us here in Europe at this season of life, so making the Girl's dream a reality was actually do-able. 


Because Sir is such a servant-hearted guy, he picked us up at Frankfurt, hauled us and our luggage home (in Volveeta, who is turning out to be my new favorite thing in the world, as old and saggy-seated as she is!), and then turned around and delivered us to the train station a day or so later.  Five hours on the train, five minutes of figuring out how to get out of the train station, and five minutes to check into the sweet little Ramada City Centre....and we were off to explore!  I cannot remember the last time I walked so much.  Before we knew it we had wandered all the way through the city, down to the Alstadt (old town).  On the way, we literally stumbled upon Mirabell Gardens.  Those of you who know my Girl know that she could have been British, the way she fights showing emotion of any sort.  But jumping on the Do-Re-Mi steps, skipping through the arches, splashing in the fountains, doing the cheesy bus tour to Mondsee, taking a carriage ride, and even scaling the mountain to find Nonnberg Abbey.....it was enough to bring out sheer delight even in Miss I Never Cry. 

I don't think I'll ever forget a moment of those three days.  We climb'd ev'ry mountain, fortunately did not have to ford any streams, and loved every inch of Salzburg.  By the end of the trip, we were cutting through shortcut alleys and hopping city buses like we'd been doing it all our lives.  The highlight for me was taking an elevator halfway up the sheer steep cliff and then following a path for quite a couple of steep kilometers to the quiet, ancient, crumbling, gorgeous Nonnberg Abbey.  We hardly saw another human being along the pathway.  We were able to go right in the gates, even inside the chapel, and admired the cool, polished stone floors, the beautiful aged wood pews, and the stately altar.  As we stood there in awe, we noticed a stepladder perched up on the altar, and a tiny little nun standing way up on the table cleaning the huge old candelabra.  Her back was to us, her habit and headpiece swishing gently as she worked silently.  She never turned around.  We were afraid to make a sound for fear we'd startle her and she'd come tumbling down from her perch.  Look closely and you'll see her in one of the photos below.

All too soon, we were back on the train, back in Heidelberg, and, within days, my Girl was back on her flight to America.   I can't begin to tell you how sad I am to be without her again, so instead I'll share the "happy place" photos and enjoy the memories again with you! 

I'm the Mom of a Clemson Grad With A Job!

So after a restful  week and a half of power-eating at the coast, it was time to pack up Mom and Dad and head for the hills.  The Girl was graduating from Clemson.  Nearly impossible to believe.We still laugh over our college-visit adventures when her high school friends plus The Mommies took to the road in search of The Perfect Learning/Living Environment.  My Girl was raised by her dad's side of the family to be a die-hard Gamecock.  It still pains the child's paternal relatives to know where she ended up....it surprised her even more.  She was pretty sure she'd be a Tiger after the three-hour tour; I don't think anyone has any regrets.  Each time I visited her at the campus, I met more and more amazing young people.  I really don't think there was a time during the four years that I had a concern about the friendships she was making.  Clemson has the largest Fellowship of Christian Athletes of any university campus in the nation.  Over a thousand students "do church" every Thursday night at 9:19; it's completely student-run.  Small groups, foreign and domestic mission trips, service projects, dances, fundraisers, retreats - these kids do it all, in addition to juggling class loads and jobs.  The Girl found her niche there, and it's a blessing to me that she will keep many of these friendships all her life. 

The night before graduation, a large group of parents (most of whom I had never met) organized by email a barbecue for all of us to meet, since we'd met and heard about each others' kids for so long.  It was so much fun!  My favorite moment was this one:  it started for me the tears that I had to fight the rest of the weekend.

Look at them - can't you just see them having a barbecue in 15 years with tons of kids running around, and they'll wonder where the time went, just as I do when I get together with Joyce and Deb, my college besties?  This, to me, was one of those magical life moments. 

God is good.  He allowed My Girl to have the best grandparents in the world, and allowed them to make the long trip from Pennsylvania to see her become the third generation of educators in our family!!  These two started the teaching trend in the 50s - Dad was an elementary principal for nearly 40 years, and Mom taught mostly first grade for many, many years.  What hard workers and wonderful examples they've been to the Girl and me!

Oh, happy day!!  No more tuition!!

Theeere she goes!!!

Theere they ALL go!  Wish I could include excerpts from the program.  You should see the esoteric doctoral dissertations!  I felt every bit as dumb as I ever have.  PS - this was only the afternoon ceremony - the morning one was bigger!

At the close, all the grads stood to sing their alma mater, and they wrapped arms and swayed.  Precious, precious time.

Then they raised their little tiger paws and roared!!

This photo, though awful in composition, captures my Girl perfectly.  I love it.  She will bring that enthusiasm with her as she begins her new life as.......drum roll......a second grade teacher in our hometown!  I love it.  Breaks my heart that I won't be there this summer to laminate, cut, draw, decorate, paste, create, clean and otherwise help her prepare for the first day of school.  Meanwhile, we're soldiering on here.

Proud parents.  I wish I knew who that old lady was.  I think I'm there inside her, screaming to get out.  Definitely screaming to get away from the WORST HAIR DAY IN RECENT MEMORY.

Again, I blame thyroid.