On the road to celebrate life, a high school graduation

Nephew Matthew

On Saturday May 11, we celebrated our May Milestone #4, the high school graduation of Matthew, youngest of three and the only son of my brother Mike and his wife Sonya.

Matthew and two of his fellow homeschooled friends comprised the 2013 graduating class. His homeschooling group is an outreach ministry of Restoration Church in Hampton, Virginia. The moms in the homeschooling group orchestrate the graduation and reception each year.

One of their graduation traditions is that each graduate’s mom prepares her son’s or daughter’s food requests for the reception that follows the graduation. 

Sonya commented that Matthew, the last of the three siblings to graduate, had easy-to-fulfill requests: Chick-fil-a nuggets, chips, Rotel cheese dip, fruit and . . . bacon? Yes, bacon. And the reception guests consumed all but about two slices of the six or more pounds Sonya prepared.

A tasty graduation cap

Of course, Sonya is great at adding special treats, in this case chocolate graduation cap suckers and Hoho diplomas. I failed to take a photo, but I did find the photo above and directions on Skip to My Lou craft site here. 

A caramel-filled chocolate square for the mortarboard, a mini M&M for the button on top, a narrow ribbon of fruit rollup for the tassel and a mini Reeses peanut butter cup for the cap part. Yum!

In addition to festive decorations in the group’s blue and white colors, the homeschooling moms and families had set up individual displays that reflected each graduate’s interests. Photos and memorabilia offered friends and family a chance to browse a sampler of a graduate’s school days and pen congratulatory notes and sign the mat of a framed photo.

Matthew's memories

Music, soccer, faith and friends dominated Matthew’s display. He seems already on the road to a future that fits the role of music and faith in his life. He has been serving for more than a year as worship leader and director of the praise band at Reformation Christian Fellowship, his and his family’s church, and as leader of the youth praise band at Restoration Church for about three years.

This fall he plans to attend Boyce College, a part of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and enter the Boyce worship and music studies program.

Sonya has been Matthew’s principal teacher and has also taught science and algebra for the homeschooling co-op group. The day following graduation was Mother’s Day, and the investment of the homeschooling moms in the lives of all the children in the group added another dimension to my thoughts of special mothers.

Here’s a belated hats off to all those homeschooling moms and to all women everywhere who provide mother hugs and nurturing for their own children and others who are not their biological children.

One of my favorite moms, my brother Mike’s wife, Sonya

Graduation weekend Sonya was the epitome of that kind of mother in action, her heart and home open wide to welcome and nurture her grown and almost grown offspring, their friends, kin and those “grafted-in” kin gathering to celebrate Matthew’s milestone.

We departed Hampton in the rain on Sunday, May 12. But I left with sunshine in my thoughts and abundant memories of happy times with Matthew, his parents, sisters and the special friends who joined the celebration.

Awaiting a flight to begin an after-graduation vacation to Italy are the graduate, his parents Mike and Sonya, and his sisters, Amanda, front center, and Becky.

NOTE: All photos except Matthew's memories are borrowed from my relative's Facebook sites.

On the road to celebrate life, another birthday

Birthday girl Stella

Last month’s travel to celebrate family events continued May 9 with a trip to Virginia. Along the way that afternoon we stopped in Marietta, Georgia, for a visit of a couple hours with our oldest son and his family. Our visit included an impromptu celebration of family May Milestone #3.

When we don’t make it to the “official” birthday celebrations of our grandchildren in Georgia and Louisiana, we celebrate birthdays the first time we see them after their birthdays. Husband Walter,  AKA Baboo, came up with a solution for our oldest grand that his siblings now want for their birthdays, too.

We had missed Stella’s 5^th birthday by a couple of days, and soon after we arrived for our visit, Stella and her sister Charlie accompanied Baboo on the traditional trip to Walmart. The birthday girl picked out her choice of a birthday cake and ice cream.

When the birthday shoppers returned, the “quickie” celebration began. Mom added candles to Stella’s choice, a pizza-sized chocolate chip cookie embellished with elaborate and colorful icing.

Voices joined in the “Happy Birthday” song. Stella blew out her candles. Mom cut the birthday cookie and served it on festive paper plates. Baboo added Stella’s choice of mint chocolate chip ice cream. We had a card and gift waiting.

We hit the road again shortly after the festivities wound down. We probably ruined appetites for dinner. But hey, that is the prerogative of grandparents.

We left behind happy kids, and we took with us happy memories that sustained us through stop-and-go Atlanta getting-off-from-work traffic and the travel hours to our next stop. 

 Mischief in the making

On the road to celebrate life: a 50th anniversary

A happy time: from the right, my “baby” brother Mike, our cousin Gloria--the anniversary girl, and me

Following the Saturday, May 4, birthday celebration for grandson Walker, we left the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home of our youngest son for Milestone #2, a 50^th anniversary dinner for our cousin Gloria and her husband Robert.

Husband Walter and I hitched a ride for the two-hour trip from Baton Rouge to Lake Charles, Louisiana, with my brother Mike and sister-in-law Sonya. It was a chance for non-stop visiting.

Gloria and Robert’s three daughters had organized the event for their parents, and we enjoyed the results of their event-planning skills. The private dining room was just the right size, quickly merging the 40 or so guests into a congenial group.

A highlight for me was a conversation with Robert before we were all seated. He has a flair for oral storytelling, and he recounted for us the story of his courtship of Gloria. Gloria is about five years my senior, and I had not been privy to the charming details as they unfolded.

My admiration for Robert grew, both for his skill as a storyteller and as a lifetime mate for the cousin I have loved and admired so much through the years.

The evening was a perfect blend of extended family I hadn’t seen in awhile,  acquaintances new to me among the couple’s circle, shared memories, lots of laughter, some happy tears and exceptionally delicious and memorable food.

My late mother considered Gloria and Robert in her “special people” category. The couple had continued to visit her often as she aged through the years. That meant a lot to her and to me.

I also appreciated the good Samaritans who took the photo at the beginning of this post and the “quick-everybody-line-up” shot below, all on my sister-in-law’s iPhone.

From left, Gloria’s husband Robert, Walter, me, Gloria, my brother Mike and sister-in-law Sonya.