I've been dead tired all day--thank goodness business was really slow at lunch. I probably shouldn't have spent all of Saturday night in Clear Lake (after working a split shift in SF), but I just couldn't say "no" to fun on my last weekend as a college student.
Playing up north...
A few of us went up to the bowling alley/hotel/restaurant/bar in Clear Lake for an evening of small town fun and karaoke. My future brother-in-law works up there and stays in a company house, so we knew we had a place to sleep. The bar itself was lots of fun, but no singing this trip. We were even able to convince a local that Mike knows to come road trip with us after last call.
I do realize "road tripping" and/or "booze cruising" are very foolish late night activities, but our driver hadn't had much to drink and the rest of us were in no state for making smart decisions. Besides, it's South Dakota's past time.
The last project...
Needless to say, I got very little sleep Saturday night when we finally got back to the house, and we woke up early Sunday morning to drive back home to sleep in our own beds. I couldn't sleep, so I got back out of bed and finished the final paper of my undergraduate career. Graduate school is definitely in the future, just not right now.
I will admit that it's very weird not taking a single final during finals week. All my friends are studying and enjoying the downtime between tests--I'm just working. This is a pretty normal week for me. I do get Friday-Sunday off for my graduation, and then it's right back to the Lob for a few more days before Barbara's high school graduation.
I'm still having some trouble accepting that this is my last week as a student. I'm still waiting for the realization to hit me that I won't ever get to have this time in my life again. Friday afternoon is my reception and then Saturday morning is the culmination of the past four years. I know all of this, yet I'm still feeling pretty numb.
Sharing big days....
Saturday is the big day--I get to walk across a big stage in Frost Arena wearing a silly black hat and robe adorned with blue and white and gold cords. But it's not just my day. Tessa turns four the same day.
Julie and I are pretty pumped about getting to host her birthday party in Brookings. We're going to decorate Julie's apartment with balloons and streamers in her favorite colors (whatever they might be this week; last we knew it was yellow). I'm baking her cake on Friday afternoon--this should be an adventure.
Coming to fruition...
More than anything, we're excited to give her her birthday present. The three of us sisters and Mike all pitched in and we got her a used Power Wheels Barbie Jeep. It was pretty faded and dirty, so Julie and Mike cleaned it up and spray painted it pink and purple. Last night I sat down with my acrylics and customized the paint job with the new Barbie logo and a few flowers.
We have been planning on doing this since before she was born. Half of the fun comes from knowing that Tessa will have another big toy to annoy Mom with. The other half comes from wonderful memories--Julie, Barbara, and I had two Barbie convertibles to share when we were growing up.
Finding the Jeep was tough. I spend a month placing bids on Ebay, only to lose to people with bigger budgets than ours. We were getting desperate, and at one point I suggested we get her a sparkly Disney Princess bicycle instead of a car. But then we realized that she really hates riding her tricycle. What kind of kid doesn't want to ride a bike?
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