I'm coming up for air

So far so good.

I must amend the previous post and say that my mother-in-law is usually not as bad as she was that day. That was one of her worst episodes.

Somehow we ended up rushing around frantically cooking as the in-laws arrived today. I hate that. This time, though, there were four of us cooking. Light did most of it, really. Twitch grilled the London broil. I made two lemon meringue pies. I was the one pulling stuff out of the oven at the last minute, though, because everyone else was busy with something else. Whatever.

I sat in the living room with all the parental units and the children for about fifteen or twenty minutes. I smiled. Then I excused myself. When Light had the table set and ready for the meal, I ate with everyone. Then my mother and I went to the graduation venue early. I wanted to be there with her when the doors opened so we could get a seat close to the doors. She can't walk very far, and I didn't want her to climb a lot of stairs in the arena. This is the arena where Lander Univesity plays basketball. So we got there early and got a good seat very close to the entrance.

The graduation ceremony was dreadfully dull. There were four or five different student speakers. None of them spoke for too long, but they all said practically the same thing. They all used the "turn the page," "this chapter of our lives" metaphor. The dispensation of the diplomas was tedius. The chorus sang a couple of pieces, and that was the best part. I also enjoyed watching this huge black man directing the graduates to their seats when they processed into the arena. The guy was head and shoulders taller than almost all the students, and was a massive wall of very dark manhood. It was funny to see the tiny teenage girls standing beside him. If he sneezed he'd have crushed them.

Mama and I did not sit with the rest of the family. After the ceremony Mama went back to her hotel to lie down. She is tired and doesn't feel well. The rest of us are at home. We served the pies (pecan and lemon meringue), and now Light is showing the in-laws her artwork. I am hiding in my office, doing this. I'm tired and slightly dehydrated and grumpy. I think I'll go lie down for a while. The ordeal is more than half way over. I feel good about that. If I can avoid the people for another few hours, we'll be golden.