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Graduation

Graduation has come and gone, but I needed to sit with my emotions for a bit before writing about it. The last of the lasts are bittersweet. While not as jarring as the first of the “lasts”, it does mark the end of an era. After twenty-one plus years of schooling for our boys, our school days are officially over. Honestly, I’m not going to miss the nastygrams over missing homework or other shenanigans. I will, however, miss the teachers who made a difference in their lives.

This year was a rough one for the Mayor, so graduation was quite the victory. The original goal was for him to finish up virtually, but that didn’t work out. We reenrolled him in physical school last fall. At first, he wasn’t happy about it, but it turned out to be a godsend. Last fall, doctors diagnosed him with Type 1 diabetes, and it hit us like a ton of bricks. Nurse Stephanie was and still is his angel on earth. As a fellow diabetic, she was able to help him navigate his diagnosis. I don’t think I can repay her for the help she has given us.

There was a lot of drama around tickets, which sucked. Each family was only given six tickets as the graduating class was nearly 800 strong. Six tickets weren’t enough for our family. In the end, the Mayor was able to obtain some extra tickets, so our family, including my parents and brother, was able to attend. After the 8:00 am graduation, we were all hungry. In the end, we ended up getting the pizzas at Cucina Moderne for lunch. The wait for brunch at First Watch was over an hour.

After lunch, we chilled at home with puppies and watched some television. The graduation dinner for the Mayor was at Saito’s. My boys are very different people, but they share a love of hibachi. In addition to our family, my folks, Jon and Brandi, and Richard and Suelen were able to join us. I don’t think the Mayor would have let us celebrate his graduation without his favorite uncles being there. The food was amazing and we had a great time.

Celebrating our youngest’s graduation without our family, including our oldest son’s wife, was surreal. It felt like the end of one chapter of our family life and the beginning of a new chapter. While we were the chief authors of the last chapter, the chapter will largely be written by their generation. I have to say, I’m not here for it. This and perimenopause make me feel old, and I’m not okay with it. Obviously, I’ll come to terms with it as every generation of mothers has done before me, but it’s tough. Anyway, enough about my emotional baggage.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress.
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into June and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?

My go to outfit is my new Fabletics onesie paired with a colorful sports bra and my hair up in a pony tail. You wouldn’t even have to force me to wear it over and over again.

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Stanley Cup Champions

The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup Champions!!! They sure made it hard on themselves by losing three in a row to Edmonton. It is a difficult trudge even to make the finals let alone win them. Additionally, they were the inspiration for a lot of nervous baking. We may lose weight now that I’m not nervously baking during every Panthers game. Last night’s nerves far exceeded the urge to bake nervously. I think all of South Florida was on tenterhooks for most of the game.

Game seven of any championship series is a stomach-twisting, exhilarating ride for the fans. It’s also the cause of stress hives, heartburn, and high blood pressure. Thank god for Benadryl, which put paid to my stress hives. During the third period, it seemed like time stood still. The Panthers went into the third with the lead and are a great third-period team, but Edmonton has some big guns that can score in clutch situations.

In the end, the Cats held off the Oilers to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. It was an amazing moment. There were definitely tears in my eyes watching the team react to winning the cup. It’s been a long time since any of my teams have won a championship (such is life as a Minnesota Sports fan.). I loved seeing Barkov raise the cup. He’s been an amazing captain for the Panthers for years and makes everyone around him better. Naturally, he handed it off to Bob, who had a career game last night. It’s obvious from watching the team interact and the way they talk about each other that the team is a family.

The Boys’ first Panther game

If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?

In honor of the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, I’d say my red Panthers T-shirt. If you ask any of my South Florida neighbors, they’d probably say Panthers’ gear today too.