I only told my sister that I was going. She was under strict orders not to tell anyone else (and thank God, I was going to arrive less than 24 hours later because there is no way my sister can hold a secret longer than that.)
Got on the plane that night. Got to DC/Virginia at 6:30 am. I had reserved a rental shitbox (because my nephew and his friends were going to the beach and my ride was going to be driven down there by boyz). Got to the rental counter and saw a purty little Mustang convertible, so I inquired. Rental dude gave it to me for only $7 a day more than shitbox. Done.
Drove to my sister's and woke up my nephew. He hugged me for a looooong time and said that he thought that he was dreaming. Then, we both went over to surprise my mother. We were a little afraid that she was going to have a heart attack, so nephew went in first and sat her down.
It was all so much fun.
The graduation was in the afternoon at a hubungous school gym. There must have been several thousand people there in 3 sections of bleechers. Nephew has a "V" last name so we had to sit through a few hundred in alphabetical order before him.
I am tired and jetlaggy and confused about what bed I am waking up in... but hey - it was SO worth it. I'm so glad I went. My nephew was really happy. And I ended up packing more into a 72 hour timeframe than I ever thought possible.
I still can't believe that the little, pudgy loaf of bread that I knew has turned into such a man. I'm so proud of him.
He got a scholarship to play football for a university in New Jersey. I can't wait to see what's next in his future.
Sometimes the sporatic decisions are the best and most memorable. As far as Arifjail, you got that right, third tier on the State Department's HR report, maybe.
ReplyDeleteSoooo glad you made it home to see your manly nephew graduate! And I can definitely see why he plays football. Such a gorgeous family you have and I know they must have been so thrilled to have you there.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your nephew and I'm glad you had the best 72 hours possible. *HUGS*
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