Everyone came to town on Friday evening. Ethan went nuts over seeing his BeBe (my maternal grandmother) in person, and even though this was only the 4th time he'd seen her, he was calling for her all weekend long (and all of this past week, too!). On Saturday, after breakfast with my dad and a trip to the farmer's market, my mother-in-law came over in the morning to build me an herb garden for my graduation gift. It's amazing! Then we spent some time playing (mostly with water balloons) before Ethan's nap:
After Ethan's nap, I was able to nurse him quickly before my dad and I headed off to get seats for graduation. We got there right when the chapel was supposed to open, and yet we still ended up in the 3rd to last row!!! I headed off to the div. school chapel where all the graduates were to gather, and there were some mighty pissed off people whose parents were stuck in overflow seating already! After an hour catching up with friends and enjoying the moment, it was time to process in.
The graduation itself was full of mixed feelings. While I was trying to focus on the moment, my mind kept getting distracted by all the crying babies. "Was that Ethan? It sounded too young. That couldn't be him. Could it?" I did hear a laugh that sounded a lot like him (and indeed it was) and found out afterwards that he was as happy as could be, sitting in Grandma's lap and playing with her iPhone. I'm quite proud of how well he did, in fact, especially considering graduation lasted 30 minutes past his regular bedtime!
It was also full of mixed emotions for other reasons. In part, one of my friends from my first year spiritual formation small group passed away last fall from cancer. As we were seated, I asked the person next to me (also from our year) if that was our friend's wife sitting across the aisle. I'd only met her once or twice, but I was pretty positive. Sure enough, it was, and there was a very moving ceremony in which they awarded him a posthumous degree. I (and many of my classmates) couldn't hold back the tears thinking about what an amazing person he was and how much he's missed.
It was also full of mixed emotions because it was the end... but not quite. In a way, I'm actually thankful that I have to go back for one more class next fall because it allowed me to keep it together at graduation. This place has been so wonderful, and I hate to think of leaving. So while I was proud to have (almost) made it through, I'm so glad I don't have to say goodbye yet.
The dean of the chapel gave an amazing sermon, and then it was time for the hooding ceremony. After that, there was a time of community celebration (read: cheering), and then we recessed back up the aisle. I cannot describe how incredible it was to see Ethan waiting for me. He was just beaming, so excited to see his mommy. Seeing him, everything was worth it. And so I couldn't help absconding with him for the rest of the recessional!
We headed to our pre-determined meeting spot. Everyone soon joined us, and then it was time for pictures. By then, Ethan was quite sleepy, so we didn't get a lot of smiles out of him (save for when he started sticking his finger up his nose... he'd outright giggle every time I playfully yanked it out). Finally Ethan couldn't wait to nurse any longer, so we said our goodbyes as I nursed Ethan on the bench.
The plan had been to change him into PJs, let him fall asleep on the way home, and stop at a fast food restaurant to pick up some dinner. Well, Ethan decided that was a bad plan. Instead, he spent the drive back laughing at his phone, talking away, and just celebrating the evening. I tried to quiet him down, and even recited his favorite book to him from memory, but by the time we got close to home, he was still wide awake. So Ethan and I were dropped at home so I could get him to bed while Daddy went to pick up Chick-fil-A (Everyone else in the family had the same idea, funnily enough!). Ethan went down almost immediately as soon as he got in his crib and slept just fine all night.
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, and I'm so glad Ethan was there to share it with me! Now I just need to actually finish earning my diploma!
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