Graduation Day

Eleven years ago this week (May 19, 1997 to be exact) I graduated high school. Here is Lindsey, myself and Keeley on the night of of my high school graduation:
While I am thankful for the great education I received, I hated high school and was ready to get out. Shortly after graduation, I went to Wrightsville Beach, NC with my family. Great trip… but if I had realized they were starting to film Dawson’s Creek (one of my favorite TV shows in college and still one of my guilty pleasures) I probably would have appreciated it more. But I digress.

Also right after graduation, I went with Lindsey and her family to Disney World as a part of my graduation present and to help watch Lindsey and her sister Keeley. Here is a picture of Lindsey and Keeley 11 years ago (sorry for the pictures of pictures)
This past weekend it was time for someone else to graduate. Someone who has grown up too fast and makes me feel old. I can remember what I wore, what was said that day eleven years ago when I graduated and when Lindsey seemed so small… and now Lindsey has graduated.

This past Saturday night, a few of us came to her family’s home to celebrate the occasion and wish Lindsey well. I didn’t take many pictures but here is a self photo Lindsey took of us (she does that a lot... and they really aren't the most complimentary pictures of me). : What can I say... she's a spaz but I love her. :-)
After we ate she told me she had something she had to show me. In her room up on her mirror she had two photos of us – this one that she took with my purse camera a few months ago...

...and another one I wouldn’t show you if I could. :-) It had to be when she was two or three and I was 13 or 14. This is not the picture but it would have been around this same time frame. And trust me my hair was even worse in the one she had:
She laughed and said we have come a long way – her from no hair and me from really bad hair. I could not argue with that.

Then on Sunday afternoon the big day arrived. I ran out of the auditorium before the ceremony started to see where the graduates were lining up. Was Lindsey nervous? Of course not. She was too busy posing. Graduation went off without a hitch and after the ceremony we found a very happy graduate.

So congratulations to Lindsey who is off to face the world. I am very proud of the girl who I have known since she was nine months old, who endured my babysitting for years, who still shares a pew with my family at church and in some ways reminds me of me and that more outgoing person I sometimes wish I could be. No matter where life takes us, she will always hold a special place in my heart. This fall, life will be taking her to college in Mississippi and a whole new, exciting phase in her life will begin. I know she is going to do great things and enjoy every minute of it.

My House

I become attached to unusual things… not just to people and animals, but to things like clothing and apparently my house. Yesterday was a hard day for me. Yesterday I had to give up my house… my first house. I guess it was the final step in the move and transition I decided I was ready to make back in November.

Growing up, we never moved. I mean literally never moved. My parents still live in the same house that I came home from the hospital to. So moving is a big deal to me. But given that I now work and live over an hour away, it was not realistic to think I would keep my first house forever. And given the state of the housing market, I know I should be happy to sell my house and not sad. But that house will always be special to me. I know that now that I don’t live there, the memories come with me… but so many things in my mind are tied up with that house.

This is the neighborhood that my friend Josh and I picked out when we were finishing graduate school. He bought the house two doors down from the lot that I bought. This is the house that my dad helped me alter to get in all of the features that I wanted including the corner fireplace in the den, the bay window in the breakfast room, the raised ceiling in the foyer… and so many other features.

This is the house that I went out to almost every day during construction to check on the progress. This is the house that Leslie helped me to pick out everything from the brick color to the flooring, to the light fixtures and the paint color. This is the house where we had my impromptu 25th birthday party shortly after I moved.

This is the house where folks from my church tried to “take over” the neighborhood. Not only did Josh have his house, another couple bought the house next door to Josh and recently another lady from church moved across the street with her two little girls. It was cool to have so many people so close that you knew. This is the neighborhood with the cool lake… a lake we would walk around and the lake that Winston pulled me flat on my face one day when we were out for a run.

This is the house where my first dog Winston ate the apple tree that we planted when I moved in… that’s right he chewed the tree in half. It survived.

This is the house where I used the whirlpool, garden bathtub to wash dogs… and that I can count on one hand the number of baths I took in it.

This is the house where I found out that Winston had died. This is the house that I brought Brun home to.
This is the house where with the help of friends and families I learned to love Brun while never forgetting Winston. This is the house where Andrew came and played with my camera and took crazy pictures of Brun... ... and I took crazy pictures of both of them.

This is the house where Stacy and I played chase with both of my dogs inside and in the back yard.

This is the house where Stacy was my roommate for almost four years. This is the house where I found out Stacy and Josh had gotten engaged while in Italy. This is the house where I decided all people should elope instead of try to plan a wedding… well I decided that years ago but Stacy’s wedding planning only reinforced it. This is the house where Stacy and I had standing “dates” to watch Gilmore Girls and One Tree Hill. This is the house where Stacy took care of a very sick Winston while we were in Australia. This is the house where Leslie, Leslie’s mom, my brother and others took care of Brun when I was in Alaska.

This is the house with the greatest master bedroom closet ever. A closet where both of my dogs liked to hide behind the clothes. This is the house with the shower where Winston would like to lay and hang out.
This is the house that has an ink stain in the master bedroom from where Winston ate a pen in the middle of the night. The new owners can deal with that. :-) This is the house where the fridge was covered in pictures but not ever filled with much real food (drinks and snacks – yes, real food – no).
This is the house with the curtains that my mom and Leslie made for the breakfast room. These are the curtains where we had three options for months because we could not decide which option looked best. This is the house with the cool pass through between the kitchen and the great room that allowed you to watch TV while cooking or doing dishes in the kitchen.

This is the house where we had hurricane parties. This is the house where you were quite likely to find someone sleeping on the couch on any given weekend (and sometimes weekdays). This is the house where we had a wedding shower for Stacy. This is the house where we had a baby showers for Leslie, Toolman and CRB.

This is the house where I invited people over for my gourmet dinner of spaghetti (which is about the only thing I can cook) and hamburgers (if Josh came down the street to cook). This is the house where it kind of snowed a couple of times.

This is the house where race banners from many American Lemans series races hung in the garage. This is the house where Josh mowed the grass and where his lawn mower blew up in my front yard one day… leaving a black spot I never thought would disappear. This I the house where Stacy, Toolman, my brother and I all nearly electrocuted ourselves before calling an electrician to fix the crazy wiring problem.

This is the house where almost no cell phone signal worked. This is the house where my stop on the tacky light Christmas tour came to be.

This is the house where I watched many a NASCAR races while eating my take out Chinese on Sunday afternoons. This is the house where I spent too many nights and weekends reading e-mail and working.

So I have walked through this house for probably the last time. I know that the memories and hundreds of pictures come with me… but I will always love and miss that house. I like my new house and the new life I am beginning… but over the years I became attached to that house and it’s not easy to say goodbye. I know it is an inanimate object and all of the belongings have already been moved out… but it’s hard to think that someone else is going to be making their own memories in that house, taking their own pictures and living their life there. No matter what, it will always be my house.

Home

This is my bed. I love my bed. It is a beautiful, antique bed that used to be my mom's. It's such a comfortable bed. I've missed my bed. I've missed my Ralph Lauren sheets and poofy comforter.


I have been gone from home for 12 days straight. Yuck!! Part of that time was spent in hotel rooms and part of it was spent at my parents house... but no matter what I do to make it more comfortable, it's not the same as my bed. I am so happy to be home and sleep in my bed for a few nights.

I still have some blog catching up to do. I have to tell you about meeting Santa Claus and our family Thanksmas and then the big wedding event last weekend. I will try to catch up soon!

Weekend Reflections

Since this is my first week blogging this is obviously my first chance to do a Weekend Reflection. Thanks to Mommy of Two for the idea.

It has been a busy week! Last weekend my dad and I went to the 12 Hours of Sebring Race in Sebring, Florida. I had a great time but I was so ready to come home that I drove all night and we got back at 6 AM Sunday morning. I had an hour and a half of sleep before it was time for church. But I had a wonderful day on Sunday because I got to spend time in my hometown with my family and friends, including Amberly and her family.

On Monday I took off from work in order to recover from my trip. I am not very good at taking time off but I was fairly successful at relaxing and sleeping in. On Tuesday and Wednesday I worked out of town and then late Wednesday I finally returned to my house in A College Town, Alabama. I have been out of town so much recently that it was really nice to be back in my own bed.

On Thursday I finally got to see my best friend Leslie and my wonderful godson, Classic Rock Baby for the first time in several weeks. We spent the evening together and it was so much fun. I have missed them a lot.

On Friday it was a typical work day and then I came home, took Brun for a walk and gave him a bath. After that it was time for a little rest and relaxation around the house.

Saturday I went to a brunch hosted by one of the wonderful ladies from church. Then Leslie, CRB and I ran an errand and came back to my house to do some sewing projects. The interaction with Brun and CRB went great!!

I love spending time with my family and friends and on vacation but it is nice to finally be back at home and to return to a more "normal" routine. I love my house, my bed, my couch, my tv, my dog, etc... and so it's nice to be back home to enjoy all of those things. It was an eventful and fabulous week but I am looking forward to a more typical routine next week.