"Interim Thoughts..."

By omission rather than commission I have been absent from making regular posts to this blog. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity surrounding the graduation of daughter Megan from the University of South Florida. That most auspicious event transpired this past Friday evening as she walked across the stage with 830 other equally proud graduates to accept their B.A. degrees. I think the best description of how Judi and I feel is breathless, much like the aftermath of a calamitous storm that heretofore occupied every fiber of our being only to disappear calmly over the horizon as a fading memory. Taking a deep breath we gladly yet reluctantly bid goodbye to this most anticipated chapter in our daughter's life. It's been a mountaintop experience for sure, but now it is time to again descend into a period of welcomed normalcy and too a slower pace of life. I'm ready and I know Judi is.

Now a new chapter in Megan's life begins. With degree in hand she now seeks full time employment in a market where more people are being laid off than are being hired. Fortunately (and fortuitously, we hope) her well established and applauded academic and service credentials with the University will afford her the opportunity to secure employment with that institution. She has a job interview this coming Tuesday for a position with the Athletics Promotions Department wherein she will be in charge of promoting a wider and more consistent support of the on-campus students for the University's NCAA athletic teams, primarily the basketball and baseball teams, both of which lag behind the more successful and nationally recognized football program. She, I, and her boyfriend Greg - the incoming Student Body President - spent an hour last evening brainstorming different promotional ideas that hopefully would capture the imagination of the students, and would serve as the creative fodder to be presented to those persons she is to make a 45 minute presentation on Tuesday. If she is successful in landing this most sought after position, I'll share some of those ideas...many of which are quite original in their approach...even if I do say so myself. (Maybe I ought to apply for the job...)

The granddaughters, stepson and future daughter-in-law departed this morning for their return flight to Cincinnati. Having these little ones in our home for the past week has been a mixture of pure bliss and havoc. Their giggles delighted a proud grandfather's heart, but the total destruction they left in each room would give FEMA pause. It may take Judi and I another week just to put things back in order. But, be assured, were they to return next week our home and hearts would be thrown wide open for them. Our home is now strangely void of those two little voices seeking Pappa and Nanna to "come look!" I think that the only two souls who are truly thankful that these pint-sized people have departed are our two cats, who only last night made a hesitant appearance to assure that the persistent silence was indeed to be trusted. "It's okay girls," I assured them. "Your nemeses are gone. You have the run of the house again."

As with any momentous occasion dozens upon dozens of photographs were taken to preserve the events. As soon as I can download them to my computer and sort them into some type of meaningful relevance, I'll share a few. A proud father and grandfather can do no less. It is a rule that I am sure is etched in stone somewhere.

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." -Perciles