Today was quite the day. I woke up at 5am, on my own accord no less, and then trekked out to O'Hare with my mom to pick up our rental car so we could come up to Wisconsin (side note: super depressing to go all the way to O'Hare without the hope of a tropical destination in the near future).
The first thing we did was drive to Wheeling to meet my brother for breakfast - he's playing in a chess tournament there and staying at the Westin, which surprisingly did not have a restaurant in it that served breakfast. Afterwards, we drove north to Wisconsin stopping by my great-aunt Dorothy's and then my late grandmother's best friend's house for a visit. She recently lost her husband and it was heartbreaking listening to her talk about how she'd loved him since high school. Sure that was a different time, but how many of us are ever sure about anything when we're in high school? I couldn't even pick an emotion about anything let alone the love of my life. Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time I've declared someone the love of my life, I think I'd have around $458 (this includes 1993-2010).
So now we're at my Uncle Jim and Aunt Lucy's house. My cousin Kevin graduates from high school tomorrow so we're here to celebrate. I remember holding him when he was a baby, in fact there is a picture of me doing so posted on Facebook and now he's graduating high school. Excuse me while I weep into a bottle of grain alcohol. (Kidding...sort of. No, I am).
I remember so vividly my own high school graduation. I was filled with hope and promise, excited to be escaping my hometown (Concord, NH), and going somewhere exciting (Miami) to meet new people and learn new things. I certainly was NOT prepared for what would ensue, the good and bad, especially since I had expected everything to be perfect, but I guess I'm old enough now to know better.
But graduating high school is so much more exciting than the sheer terror of graduating college jobless and forced to return to your aforementioned hometown where some bars have the audacity to charge cover and WHY would I PAY to get into a bar in CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE when I won't do it in Miami or Chicago or San Diego (and yes, I've done it in all three places but that's beside the point).
Kevin is going to Wisconsin in the fall and I've promised to send him a list of things NOT to do (basically everything I've done). I'm so proud of him!!
On the last Marriage Ref, one of the couples had been married for 66 years and they were so friggin' adorable! It's just not the same these days. I'm not saying that we're all doomed and are incapable of finding that love of a lifetime, but it seems to be less frequent than it used to be.
ReplyDeleteBut seeing little old couples walking hand in hand in contented silence gives me hope... if they can find that, so can we.