Commencement

Graduation is today.  I adore graduations, as I do most ceremony.  (Okay, partly because there is costuming involved!)  The symbolism of academic regalia.  The families and the accomplishment and the transition.  The pomp.  The circumstance.  

The tears I shed are from an overflow of feelings, not exclusively sadness.  I never fail to find myself swept up in a tempest of emotion.  Sure, there is sadness for the loss of the everyday presence of some very special individuals.  But it's tempered.  By excitement for students concluding this chapter and outlining the next.  Pride in some students' extraordinary stories and the joy of participation in them.  Love.  

In the words of Dr. Seuss, which will inevitably be used in commencement addresses worldwide: do not cry because it's over - smile because it happened.

Congratulations, Class of 2009.  Go, and take flight.  Travel lightly, but keep some souvenirs of these four years tucked in your suitcase hearts.

Birthday Month!

It's already nine days into my birthday month, and I'm finally now alerting everyone.

It's nice to have a birthday at the very end of the month - once the calendar page changes, I get several weeks of anticipation.

Here's my list of what I want for my birthday, for which I know you've all been waiting.

Remove Before Flight keychain

Hinge Wallet - because Jess says I need a new wallet

Stila Twinset in Demi Claret (two, please!)

OPI Polish in Underwater Fantasy

Gap dress - black; size TBD

Extension tubes so I can fake some macro shots

Wide-angle lens (hey, it's a wishlist)

Phineas; Six Stories by John Knowles

Levenger ink - Empyrean

10-lb Adjustable Ankle Weights

Bike Helmet - Size M/L, not picky on color, probably black.

A jacaranda tree

A Meyer lemon tree

Music:

Brandon Heath (both albums)

The new U2

The new Jars of Clay

Missed Marks

What I ordered for my mom for Mother's Day:

What was delivered:

The hell?! 

Okay, okay, to be entirely fair, the florist did tell me that they were out of the dahlias, and I told them to substitute a chrysanthemum or lily or something else big.

But come on.

First, with the colors of those roses in there, I'd have probably gone with a dark pink or red gerbera, not orange.  Or yellow spray roses instead of ivory.  I dig the pittosporum, but greenery alone cannot redeem this.

Second, that vase is all wrong. The arrangement's shape is all wrong. I ordered it for the subtle asymmetry in a modern vase, but I got off-kilter bud-vase arranging in a ginger-gar vase.

Third, I know flowers open as they age, but it just looks scrawny.

I guess that's what I get for trying a new florist... >:(