graduation 2024

 

He made it! WE made it! Friday night we had perfect weather for the graduation ceremony. Our cousin James gave a lovely valedictorian speech that included not one but SEVEN Taylor Swift references, all of which flew right under my radar. After the ceremony, we navigated the absolute chaos all around the school so Max could get pictures with all of his friends and some special guests. 

It's Sunday afternoon as I write this, and Max has spent the entire weekend doing quintessential American graduation things: going out to dinner with his closest friends, going to his friends' open houses, and just generally appearing at and disappearing from the house at random intervals. He's spent plenty of time with his lady friend, who also graduated Friday (class president!). He's just out here living his best end-of-high-school life, and I love this for him.

Congrats to the class of 2024!

hello, farewell

 It's the last day of high school for Max! 

I remember his first day of kindergarten, how he was nervous but so brave, and how Liam talked to him about what to expect and made him feel excited and happy to be there. I have loved all of Max's school years, even the time he snatched $40 from my desk and used it to buy novelty erasers and books for all his friends at the book fair. Even when he started a cuss club with those same friends, which consisted of them writing down every naughty word they knew -- only then one of them dropped the paper with the list, and when the teacher picked it up, all the friends pointed to Max as the ringleader. All of his adventures have delighted me ... even the ones that frustrated me at the same time.

When they were very little, we used to say that Liam was more interested in how things work, and Max was more interested in how people work. I still think that's true. I feel a little sad that as the second child, Max is always in a place of comparison -- when there's only one child, there's nothing to compare with, but once you have more, you can't help but constantly observe their similarities and differences. But Max is his own person. He is happy to walk beside his brothers, but he is just as comfortable standing tall and proud on his own. He is smart and funny and thoughtful and so charming. He's going to be a wonderful teacher, in and out of the classroom. He's going to make -- HE ALREADY HAS MADE -- such a difference in the lives of the people who know him. Sometimes I feel like I could just crack in two from the force of my pride in him. 

And on this last day of his senior year, I'm proud of us too. It is hard work to bring a human into this world, and there's never any guarantee that your young human will turn out well, despite your best intentions. I know we're all just out here making the best choices we can as parents, and sometimes that has great results, and other times maybe not so much. I feel so fucking fortunate to have raised this young man. So utterly lucky to be here to watch him take these steps toward adulthood and know that we've helped him get there. I cannot wait to see what comes next. 

total eclipse

What a momentous day ... for us all to be scattered to the wind, doing our own separate things.

Mike was at work.

Liam was on campus.

Max drove to Muncie with James and their friend Ryan to be in the path of totality.

Henry went to an event called Total Eclipse in the Park (a name that delighted me in ways that baffled him).

And I was home working in my office.

But still, it was an impressive thing to see. And for a minute, as we all looked to the sky, even far removed from each other, we were all together.

wrestlemania

 Behold the best sports pictures we've ever gotten from school! These were taken by Jenn Hunter, who also took Max's senior pictures. I heartily approve the decision to use a local photographer instead of a national chain!

bye, zion!

 This morning we checked out of our hotel and drove over to the Kolob Canyons section of the park. We stopped at the visitor center and looked around, but mostly we stuck to the scenic drive for this section. Just like in the rest of the park, the views were incredible. Honestly, I don't know how people who live in this area get anything done. I would just be staring out the window all day long.

We bid farewell to Zion and headed back to Las Vegas for our flight home, but we had one last stop to make: Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. It's kind of hard for me to wrap my head around this amazing landscape being only 30 minutes outside of the artificial glow of Las Vegas. Really, it felt otherworldly. And for the perfect finishing touch to our trip, we got up close and personal (from the confines of our rental car) with an entire herd of bighorn sheep. 

biking zion

 

It's time for a day tailor-made for Holli: bike day!

We rented ebikes and rode all the way up Zion Canyon Scenic Drive to the Temple of Sinawava, stopping wherever we felt like it along the way. Before we left, I warned the boys that they would need gloves, but they insisted they would be fine, so when we set out, Mike and I were the only ones wearing gloves, and I had one extra pair in my bag. Guess how that ended up? (Hint: My fingers were very cold without my cashmere and leather gloves. But Max kept all his fingers and didn't get frostbite.)

This was the first time on an ebike for any of us, and it took a little getting used to, but it was really nice to have the assist, especially on the inclines. There weren't a ton of extra riders because of the cold, which is just the way we like it. We set out early, but even so, by 9 a.m. the park road was closed to cars since all the parking spots were filled.  

I can't say enough how special it is to be in a place like this and feel like you're discovering it along with your favorite people ... and without a huge crowd of other people intent on making the same discovery. And being on a bike is so much better than being in a car. It lets us interact more closely with the scenery around us, and being able to stop in places where cars aren't allowed to stop is a real advantage. Give me this kind of exploration every day of the week and twice on Sundays. 

At the end of the line, Mike and Max went for a hike, while Henry and I relaxed on the banks of the Virgin River. It was sunny and crisp and just the kind of day that makes you so happy to be alive.

We rode back down with a lot fewer stops, and by the time we got back to the visitor center, there were SO MANY people out and about that it was hard to navigate the last stretch without running people over. That was really the only time we felt hemmed in, though, which makes it truly a fantastic day.