A Long Day!

Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind.  My morning started out quite nicely as I discovered that a former teacher of mine, whose blog I have been following and taking inspiration from, praised me quite highly as a writer.  (Views From the Dock)  I was completely flabbergasted and flattered to read that, and more than a little teary.  Needless to say, my morning started out well.

Ben quite quickly put an end to that.  Of all the mornings to decide that he didn't want to nap, that he needed to be held, and that he didn't want a bath, yesterday HAD to be that morning.  So while I packed up all the gear we would need for a day and an evening in Portland, I had a whiney, fussy, one year old clinging to me.  Unpleasant.

We did eventually make it out of the house, though we were late, and Ben was not happy about the heat of the car.  Our first stop was the beach/park on Portland's East End for some pictures with Molly.  Now, I haven't seen Molly in quite a few years, and I can distinctly remember the first time we sat down together, when she was about eleven, and she went on and on about how AMAZING  Harry Potter was.  (She was right by the way.)  Anyway, she has now grown up into a lovely young lady who is about as sweet as can be, and was willing to take some pictures of me and Mr. Grumpy.  Fortunately the beach and the park calmed down Ben and we both had fun.  I think she was able to get some really nice shots.

With the pictures done, Ben and I ran a few more errands in the sweltering heat before meeting my husband and getting ready for graduation.  Graduation.  What a big moment that is!  It was a long ceremony, (I think eight million students graduated, ugh) but the speeches were sweet from the students and staff, and at the end the graduates had some fun and got to throw around some confetti and beach balls while hollering and dancing to their class song (Phil Collins?  Really guys?).  I can safely say Don and I were both dry eyed during the event, though Jake's mother and grandmother were having a much harder time.  I know for me, it was an exciting event and I was just so happy to see Jake reach the first of many, many, major milestones that we all have ahead of us.  I didn't think it would affect him quite so much, but I have to say I was touched to see Jake and his best friend with tears in their eyes as they hugged each other and their families.  It was really a nice ending to a very long day.

Jake & Nick

Jake & Marcus

And of course, poor Marcus was quite the trooper as he celebrated his 16th birthday in the sticky Civic Center listening to speeches and watching his brother get smothered with attention.  He is, fortunately, a gracious brother and didn't seem to mind Jake stealing his important day.

Happy Birthday Marcus!



After one last stop for some not-so-fast fastfood, we were all home and in bed having survived the heat, the fussy baby, the ceremony and everything else.  I congratulated my husband on raising an adult and went to sleep grateful that we still have two more to go...

The MacDougall Family