Graduation.

A few days ago I got a letter in the mail and it just happened to be an invitation to my very good friend's graduation. Wow. Graduation. I've known her since the fourth grade and now she's graduating... My little friend is growing up. Sad times. But -I am very excited that she'll be attending the William Jewell College, which just so happens to be about twenty-four minutes away. Needless to say, I'll be spending quite a bit of time up there. I've been there before, just so you know. Big college. Well, bigger than the one I'm attending. There aren't even dorms at my college. I spent my last Youth Conference trip up there at Jewell. Good place. I had a lot of fun.


So anyway. I took another trip down to my parents house on Sunday and stayed 'til Tuesday night -the night of the graduation. I had fun at my parents. I had the most fun hanging out with my younger sister, Jordan, who just recently had a birthday. Seventeen on the Seventeenth. I really miss her. We had a blast! For those who don't know, she dropped out of school just a few weeks ago and will be attending this GED prep class. (I made her promise me that she would take the test. I couldn't stand watching my sister plant herself in the roots of Going-Nowhere. Horrid place.) So yeah, while the other kids and my folks were at work, Jordan and I got to hang out. We watched a couple of movies and talked about majors. During the movie "Return to Me" (two thumbs for Minnie Driver!) Jordan and I downed an entire half gallon of mint ice-cream. Wow! It was good. But of course, we both had MAJOR belly aches afterward. Ugh.

Anyway, I helped my even-younger sister Jessica, mow the lawn for my parents. It's a big lawn. We mowed until well after dark. I had to bring my car down the hill and shine the brights on the grass. We didn't get finished though. Oh well. (My parents, for those who don't know, live on a huge hill and its a pain to have to drive the fifteen passenger van down. I remember the first time I tried. It was super hard! Not the word "tried." I didn't succeed. I had to have my dad help me half way through. It was a pain.)

The graduation was on Tuesday at seven o'clock. I took my cousin with me, he in his car and me in mine. We got there right on time and had to park two blocks away and then we had to stand on the steps because the ENTIRE stand was full of people. -The graduation was held outside on the football stadium. Just so you know, it does NOT accommodate well for graduations. Half of the audience was standing. My cousin and I ended up actually sitting on the football field away from the crowd. Good place for pictures, if I do say so myself. I got a lot of those. It was fun. I got to hear my friend give a speech, which was really good by the way. And then, at the very end, all the graduates threw their hats in the air and cheered. It was so cool! Just like the movies! After that, they opened the field for the audience I raced over to my would-be-fellow-graduates and said hi to practically everyone I knew or who I was sure would remember me. It was fun! One of my friends came over screaming and hugging everyone within reach. It was historical! She was almost in tears with both joy and sorrow. Wow. It was really fun to watch, actually.


So yeah. That was graduation. I got to talk to my friend for just a little bit longer before we both had to leave -I to go home and she to go to one of those Project Graduation things. After saying goodbye to her I drove to Taco-Bell to meet up with my cousin and other cousin who also happened to be at the graduation. I ordered a root-beer and one of those new surprisingly delicious Strawberry Frutista Freezes. I had a long drive ahead of me and I wasn't gonna go empty handed. Half an hour or so into the journey I discovered a small bag of club crackers that I had packed for the trip down here, but had never actually gotten around to eat. So, for dinner I had root-beer and club crackers. Good combination. Yeah. Right.

The drive was horrid! I'm usually very good about the obvious Not Sleeping While You Drive kick, but today was especially hard. The roads were utterly empty, thank goodness, and the long drive was irritatingly quiet. I tried everything. I put my headphones on and let Avril Lavigne yell into my ear and I even yelled along with her for a while until my voice hurt or I forgot the words. I rolled the window down at one point, but when your going seventy-plus miles an hour the breeze hardly feels welcoming. But I guess that's the point. ....My list of things to do to keep my stupid eyes open checked off rather fast. Everything was futile. No. That's not true. I obviously didn't fall asleep, I only mean to say that nothing was THE solution. My utter determination was what got me home. I was so tired. After putting the car in park at the house I almost clonked out right there, but I decided against it. I had already told my hosts that I'd be home that night and I didn't want to worry them.

I pulled myself up the stairs, which took more effort that it should have, and knocked on my hosts door to let them know that I was home. The following conversation was unusual and very entertaining. For the past seven months that I've been here I've had the opportunity to learn that when one is roused from sleep their intelligence is very limited. The things they say are more or less delusional and often times very funny. And since it was already well past midnight this was one of those strange nights...

The following day at work was hard and long. A whole nine hours. My usual shift is only just half that, but I can usually lick the big ones without any problems. But I was so incredibly tired. My voice kept cracking and I looked totally flushed. I hoped that no one got the wrong idea about my condition. After pointing out that I had gone to a graduation the night before and come home very late I got a few strange looks. But no. I was just tired. I can't remember the last time I felt so tired.

Anywho. That was my weekend. Long and boring. This next weekend will be much the same. Almost a complete re-run as I see it. But without the graduation bit. I'll be spending five whole days at my parents house. Sure it'll be fun. I'll get to see my brother off at the airport for his mission. That will be fun. ...Five days of being shut up in an empty house. Four nights of sleeping on the floor. Five days of utter boringness... Then, when that's over, I get to drive all the way to Arkansas for my silly orthodontics appointment. Ugh. I can't wait until I get my braces off. Only six more months! Yippie!