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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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Countdown is On

The countdown is on! Only six more days until the Mayor’s graduation officially ends our family’s school days. It’s been a long and winding road that started at a preschool in Minnesota in 2003. I still remember the orientation like it was yesterday. The teachers largely ignored me and talked to my mom. To be fair, I looked like a kid and she still doesn’t look her age. From next Monday forward, I will be but a passenger in the next generation’s school journey.

Twenty-two years of homework, last-minute science projects, angry emails, and angry calls are coming to an end. Fortunately, the Mayor hit his stride at Park Vista and made the A honor roll each quarter this year. This last year of school for our family has been a godsend. Happenstance put us in that school with the people best suited to help him handle and manage his diabetes diagnosis. I could pinch myself at how blessed we’ve been with his school nurse, teachers, and administrators.

One of my favorite school day stories featuring the Mayor happened when he was in first grade. A couple of things to keep in mind. At this point, he was living in hockey locker rooms. Two, LMFAO and “Party Rock” were everywhere at this time. At lunch, his friend dared him to stand on the table, drop his pants, and “wiggle it” as the song lyrics suggested. With no compunction, he accepted and executed the dare. Consequently, I received an urgent call for a meeting with the teacher.

When I met with the teacher and she told me what happened, it was all I could do not to laugh. After all, he did this little dance on the cafeteria table wearing Thomas the Tank Engine underwear. Horrified, I explained to the teacher that he lives in his older brother’s hockey locker room and is a hockey player himself. His teacher gave me a knowing look and said, “I grew up in Michigan and dated hockey players all my life. This makes complete sense. I will take care of it with the administration, so it doesn’t become an issue.”

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress. I completed High Intensity 1.0 last week and started 2.0 yesterday!
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into May 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 A Knight and a Spy 1415 (The Road to Agincourt – King’s Spy), by Simon Fairfax
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?

I’ve made a lot of changes for the better this year. One thing I’d like to do is grow more fruits and vegetables in my yard. Florida is the perfect place for year round agriculture, so there’s really no excuse. This fall I’m going to plant some herbs and vegetables that we can harvest throughout the winter. It’s too hot in summer for a lot of these vegetables.

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Last of the Lasts

Today, we experienced one of the last of the lasts. Our youngest, the Mayor, had his last day of school today. Getting here has been a long road, but we’ve finally crossed the finish line. Our oldest started school in 2004 in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota. After he finished kindergarten, we moved to Florida.

The first of the lasts are quite difficult as your brain learns to process the moment’s emotions. I remember feeling lost as I navigated Jake’s move from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, and his senior year. Each milestone I experienced with Jake prepared me to experience it fully with Goalielocks and The Mayor.

First and last day of school

The Mayor’s senior year has hardly gone to plan. Who could have foreseen that he’d be hospitalized in the fall and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes? Fortunately, his high school played an integral role in adjusting to diabetes. His school nurse, also a diabetic, took him under her wing immediately. The nurse ensured everyone understood what needed to be done to keep him safe at school. His English teacher helped him too, as she is also a type 1 diabetic.

Jake’s first and last day
Goaelielocks first and last day

The last of the lasts is interesting too. It’s not as hard as the first time, but the finality of it all is a bittersweet pill to swallow. Honestly, when you first have kids, you feel like you’ll be parenting them forever. In the end, active parenting is a temporary assignment. After eighteen years or so, parents are expected to send their kids out into the world. It’s like having three versions of your heart beating outside your body. Yet seeing them thrive as adults is quite rewarding. So, cheers to the next chapter as we celebrate the last of the lasts.

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 February 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 A Knight and a Spy 1414 (The Road to Agincourt – King’s Spy), by Simon Fairfax
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What was the last live performance you saw?

The last live performance I saw was Jerry Seinfeld. He’s only the second stand-up comedian I’ve seen live. The first was Chelsea Handler, whom we saw ages ago in Miami Beach. Seinfeld’s show was as entertaining and intelligent as I expected it to be. I’d definitely go see him again. Next week I hope to scoot up to the amphitheater to see Breaking Benjamin live. It’s been far too long since I’ve been to a concert.

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Grad Party

We celebrated Goalielocks’ and his friend TK’s graduation with their grad party over the weekend. While TK is his friend, he and his family are considered family to us. It’s been amazing to watch the two grow up and go through the trials of elementary, middle school, high school and hockey together. So much has changed since they first became friends almost a decade ago.

Our friend Garlic Bob catered the event with an epic taco bar that was capped off with a nacho cheese fountain. Boy, can he cook! His food is always delicious and on point. We sampled his taco bar at a friend’s grad party last year and I instantly knew we wanted him for Goalielocks’ party. It was absolutely a no brainer.

I was a bit worried the tropical weather that dumped nearly a foot of rain in our area would keep a lot of people away, but we only had a few cancellations. Goalielocks played hockey in Dade County, which was underwater for most of the weekend. Unfortunately, that made it unsafe for his Miami based teammates to make the drive, which was a bummer.

I tried Pink Whitney for the first time at his grad party. Pink Whitney, of course, is the ubiquitous hockey mom drink of choice. I’m surprised it took so long for me to try it. I love it. It was so good! A couple of observations about the drink, it’s good, but it’s a bit sweet. Also, a group can drink a small bottle in minutes. To cut the sweetness, I recommend pairing it with sparkling water on ice. This would make it much less sweet and more refreshing.

The grad party was a rousing success. We finally headed home with two cars full of kids just after 12:30 am. Everyone had a great time celebrating the two boys graduation. I think, the highlight for me was the two boys cutting the cake and feeding each other. It was super funny. The cake, of course, was super yummy and beautiful. Hanh makes the best cakes! They’re always beautiful and super tasty without being too heavy in your tummy. It was a great night!

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Volleyball Banquet

Last night we had Goalielocks’ volleyball banquet at the high school. It was a nice dinner with both the boys and girls volleyball teams. He’s played volleyball the last two years, but there was no banquet last year due to Covid. Dinner was courtesy of Olive Garden, which was good. Fortunately, it settled in my stomach. I was a bit worried as my stomach had been quite sensitive lately.

While we ate, the coach, the senior captains and the underclass men gave their speeches. They were nice, brief and to the point. After the speeches came the awards. Goalielocks was awarded a letter in in varsity Volleyball. After the awards, the kids switched into active wear and the girls took on the boys. The girls beat the boys, which wasn’t super surprising given the talent on the girls team. A lot of Goalielocks’ team was relatively new to the sport. It was a fun way to end the volleyball banquet.

We’re currently driving to the west coast for hockey. There’s nothing I hate more than driving on state road 60. It’s honestly the worst road in the history of roads. In fact, the entire of state road 60 should be at least four lanes instead of one lane each way. There’s nothing more disconcerting than your car shaking as a semi speeds by heading the other direction.

My outfit for the volleyball banquet

We’re still a good two hours out from our resort. While we’re heading west for hockey, we thought we’d make it worth the parents’ while by booking an nice resort. Consequently, we’ll be staying at the Saddlebrook Resort and Spa. The resort has a couple of incredible pools, which is where I plan on spending my day tomorrow. Since we only have to be playing this year, our game schedule is nice and light.

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Took a Break

I took a break from the blog over the past month to focus on really living and feeling the emotions of the last four weeks. Since I’ve been gone, I had a fantastic vacation in the Turks and Caicos with my favorite moms and my middle son graduated high school. Many emotions come with high school graduation, ranging from relief they made it, sadness because a chapter is closing, happiness because a new chapter is beginning, and pride for all they accomplished.

This time around, we were missing Jake, which made the moment bittersweet. We were all so excited to see him walk at graduation, but definitely were missing Jake’s presence. And I think Jake was bummed he missed the moment as well. Nonetheless, Jake was with us in spirit through Flat Airman Jake. He skipped out on the graduation ceremony as he doesn’t like speeches. He didn’t however skip out on dinner as. Flat Airman Jake loves hibachi just as much as Jake and the rest of our family love it.

For graduation, we had my folks and Luke’s dad in town for several days. It was nice to see my folks and Grandpa Steve after not seeing them for a long time. In fact, this was my parent’s first trip to visit us since the pandemic. They had come down in 2019 for Thanksgiving to see Jake off to BMT, but haven’t been able to return until Goalielocks’ graduation. Fortunately, for our guests, the weather was absolutely beautiful for most of their stay. In fact, it was quintessential Florida winter weather. Beautiful temperatures and low humidity. Unfortunately, we knew the shoe had to drop some time and the heat and humidity would come roaring back. The weather changed while they were here, but thankfully only during the last few days of their trip.

On graduation day, the weather was actually perfect. It was overcast, which kept us a bit cooler as we waited to get into the expo center. The Mayor and I timed it perfectly and were able to get awesome seats right on the main aisle with an unobstructed view of the graduates walking. Hubby and the grandparents came a bit later because they had stopped to get gas. Nevertheless, they didn’t wait too long to get in. It would be helpful if the district had a line for the seniors and those with disabilities. My father-in-law uses a cane and I think those with cane/walkers/wheelchairs should have an expedited entrance and not have to fight through the larger lines.

The ceremony itself was absolutely divine. For once the speakers gave practical advice like saving money and investing in your future. The valedictorian’s speech, Goalielock’s (aka Colin) friend, was poignant. After losing his father unexpectedly last fall, his friend continued to persevere and kill it at school and on the volleyball court. Furthermore, it was cool to see how the graduating class supported him throughout his speech. They had a unique high school experience, to say the least with a pandemic upending a lot of it. Yet the class of 2022 persevered and made it to the finish line. Post-graduation we enjoyed a nice hibachi dinner with family. I’m glad took a break to enjoy and live in the minute of my son’s graduation.

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Milestone

Another milestone moment as we picked out Goalielocks’ senior pictures this evening. I can’t believe we have two kids that are now technically adults. I say, technically because of you know, you know. The whole process took an hour or two. It was long and stressful. Thankfully, his pictures turned out well, which made it difficult to pick.

In the end, we ended up with the platinum elite package or whatever the hell they call it. Senior year and high school graduation is definitely a milestone, but boy oh boy do they bilk the money out of you. All year everyone is coming at you asking for cash. Honestly, is it okay that senior pictures are now the same price as a cheap used car? Is the cap and gown really worth the price they charge? Anyway, I can’t wait to get the pictures that I’m going to pay for by selling my kidney. I’m only sort of kidding here.

Tonight we’re just chilling at the house. The Mayor was supposed to have games tomorrow, but the Makos weren’t fit to play. Naturally, the same league that wouldn’t allow Goalielocks’ team reschedule due to a lack of bodies, gladly allowed the Makos to reschedule. Our league has different rules depending on which organization you play for or are affiliated with. It’s an absolute joke. In just a few years, we’ll be done with this god forsaken league. I look forward to blowing up some of these folks in a book about our Florida hockey experience.

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We Made It

We made it to San Antonio after a long, but fun day of travel. Our AirBnB is the cutest old house in all of San Antonio and in close proximity to everything. We did a trial run out to JBSA Lackland, so I think we have a handle on where to go early tomorrow morning. And now after a long day of traveling we’re off to bed since we have a very early wake up call tomorrow.

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Moving On

Today was Goalielocks’ moving on ceremony marking the end of a fantastic three years at Logger’s Run Middle School.  Since day one he has flourished in Middle School enjoying the academic offerings and his many friends.  It was apparent tonight how much he enjoyed his school and how well he got along with his classmates.  Of course, for me, it was bittersweet as it marks the end of one stage and the beginning of another stage.  It seems like just yesterday he was graduated from preschool and now he’s off to high school.

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The ceremony itself was at his future high school in West Boca.  We found out yesterday that he has been offered a spot in the medical academy at West Boca with all of his friends.  He was absolutely ecstatic to learn that he’ll be continuing his school journey with the vast majority of his school friends.  We waited until tonight at dinner to give him the good news.

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We waited patiently in the hot, sauna of a gym for ceremony to start.  They started “Pomp and Circumstance” as the graduates filed into the gym.  Maybe it was the contacts or both our bad vision, but we didn’t see Goalielocks walk into the gym at all.  Once they had sat down, we didn’t seem him either.  Naturally, we started to panic a bit.  After a few minutes of concern, my hubby decided to go down and see if we could find him.

He headed down towards the entrance and start chatting with the principal and the police officers working the event, who assured him he was there.  The hubby headed up the other bleachers to try and find him to no avail.  Finally, the principal let him walk down the side and he found him.   Now we could relax and enjoy the show.

As I watched the video with Goalielocks tonight, he quickly pointed out that we actually got him on video.  How we missed him in the first place is beyond me.  Like I said it could be the contacts or the blonde hair.  Nonetheless, it was a fabulous night to celebrate the accomplishments of middle school while looking forward to the challenges and opportunities of high school.  

 

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Another Milestone Moment

It seems like it was only moments ago that Zachary crossed the stage in East Boynton to graduate from VPK on a warm Saturday in May between hockey games.  Colin was in first grade and Jacob had just finished sixth grade.  Kindergarten was an approaching reality for Zachary, but where we are now (out of elementary completely and one heading to college) seemed to be in the distant future.  Only it wasn’t so distant.

Cruel and misleading, time is a mistress that pulls no punches.  It passes so quickly that none of us even notice and with the blink of our eye, our babies are no longer babies, but young men and women.  Okay, okay, the Mayor is only going into middle school so young men and women may be a bit of a leap, but to be fair his older brother graduated high school and its all happening in what seems to have been a blink of the eye.   I’m pretty sure just last Christmas, the Mayor was in his Exersaucer and Jacob was opening his favorite Goosebumps book.

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After thirteen years, three schools, three houses, three boys, two states and countless businesses (run by the Mayor,) our elementary career as a family is over.  No more awkwardly timed donuts with dads or muffins with moms on a Thursday or Friday morning.  No more recess, parents running interference or safety patrol for this family.  As the Mayor moves on to middle school, he gains independence and accountability for his studies.

It is hard to say bye to Sunset Palms since we’ve been there since it has opened and it has been great to our family.  We’ve had so many amazing teachers throughout the years at the school and Mr. Fleming is both Zachary and Colin’s favorite.  We were so lucky to be zoned for such an incredible school.

Saying goodbye to preschool was just as hard with Zachary graduated in 2011.   Each of his graduations or moving on ceremonies, signals a change of life stages for our family.   While the transitions in stage are a bit difficult and emotional, there is much beauty to be found in our life’s new stage.  I look forward to showing what life’s next stage has in store for our family and for the Mayor.