...Re-telling THE day

Yesterday was graduation day-commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2010 at Cal State University, Northridge; better known as CSUN.

The first two days of this week we had rain and boy did it rain!!! The University had been holding commencement exercises since Monday-two a day as there were that many candidates receiving degrees. (This brought back memories of a rain-soaked day of my daughter's high school graduation. That day we ended up soaked to the skin and the graduates were just as soaked! I was praying that would not be the case on this night. ) As it turned out, the day dawned with sun and the heat just started! The commencement was scheduled for 6:30pm and it went off on schedule.

However, taking it back a few hours here, we needed to be ready and on our way by 4pm. The question of seating was always problematic as we never knew just how crowded it would get. Everyone arrived on time except for one of my sisters. The laughable part is that my brother is usually the LATE one, so when he was on time we were all amazed! Needless to say, my brother took my mother, my daughter and his kids to campus as my daughter had to be there by 5pm. I waited for my sister with one of our family friends.

She finally showed up about 15 minutes later. My brother-in-law is a good guy but boy oh boy....a very careful driver in a situation where we needed to get there fast. Oh well. We found parking on campus but a 25 minute walk. (At the end of the night I will come to appreciate this.) As we finally arrived at the Library where the commencement was to be held, we ran into my daughter's Dad and family. They were smart and found seating under the shade of the trees. I spent some time with them not just because I had not seen them in while but because the shade felt so good!!! OMG was it hot!!!! My daughter was visiting there as well; her fancy decorated grad cap helped me see her!! This is when I found out WHERE my brother decided to find seating. NOT the best place.

As I had already mentioned, it was a VERY hot day and in keeping with my brothers viewpoint, he sought shade. Never mind that we may not be able to see my daughter graduate but he wanted shade. Following my daughters directions plus additional calls to my brother's mobile I managed to find them. ALL THE WAY UP THE BLEACHERS but in the shade.

As I saw them way and looked at the steps I needed to take to get to them, I thought, my aerobics workout for the day and then some will be done today. Heels are not an option but I was wearing them and up I climbed. Did I mention it was HOT?? So here I am dressed in heels and appropriate attire climbing up bleacher steps...I wanted to kill my brother! I finally made it slightly out of breath and with one look, my brother knew, and he just started to laugh!!! HE knew what I was thinking!! Finally settling down and cooling down, he did offer a choice of drinks, water, Gatorade or Vitamin water; for which I was grateful but it did not get him out of trouble with me!

The drama did not stop there however. Soon the "air horn" police were on the prowl. In an effort for the ceremony to be dignified, air horns were apparently outlawed. They also neglected to make any kind of announcement of this. So yes, as it is in our rebellious natures to just ignore what is NOT in print, we used the air horns and hid them with the volunteer students would come by. It was fun to see them run up the steps in an effort to "confiscate" the offending items from the families. We did have a few laughs at their expense...what can I say!! The other incident was not so funny as this is where I got my payback. A woman was sitting two rows in front of us with the LARGEST BALLOON BOUQUET you could possibly buy. They are supposed to keep them low so that those behind her can see. Well, the ceremony started and of course, OUR view along with a few others, was obscured. She was asked politely by more than a few to move them which she pointedly ignored. Until the moment my brother told her...in English...that he will get his gun and shoot them down. Amazingly, she recovered her hearing and moved them. She knew she was wrong but she did not even apologize to anyone around her. THAT is in considerate to the max!!

As the ceremony progressed, the University President, continued on and even gave detailed instructions to both parents and candidates as to where to turn when and when to sit! I really felt that I was 6 years old but then I do believe that was her personality. She was an alumna of the School of Education at CSUN-made sense to me! The moment of my daughter's graduation finally arrived and we almost missed it!! She used her entire name which threw us all and she walked so fast..it truly was 30 seconds of fame! My brother and nephew barely used the air horns but they did manage. My brother freezing his hand as he had it turned the wrong way!! We did laugh and now we just waited for the end.

Once the procession, the graduates and the music had ended, it was time to find her among the thousands out there. Thank God for technology!!! We all managed to find her after coming down from the heavens (remember the top of the bleachers) and finding our way through the crowd. Along the way my muscles started to protest plus sitting on those bleachers is never a comfortable experience!

Time for the kisses and hugs; the tears and the cheers; the pictures upon pictures! Yes we did that for at least an hour. The grandmothers held up pretty well but they started to get cold. So a part of the crowd shuffled off to chauffeur one of them home. The other on held on a little longer but she did not leave until she secured a promise from me to go and see her. She bribed me with her cooking!!! Yummy! I would go to see her without the bribe though! My daughter's Dad finally took off with his Mom and wife.

Now it was down to just us and the graduate. My brother, niece and nephew and I started the long walk to the parked car. Little did I know just how far it was! The 25 minute walk into the ceremony grounds was a piece of cake compared to where my brother parked. it took us 40 minutes. I had kicked off my heels and was walking barefooted. I was sore and tired. My daughter looked happy but exhausted!

We did stop along the way home to pick up some Greek food, my daughter went out with her friends to eat at Fridays, and we all grubbed at home. Needless to say, it was a long day but with happy results!

Despite the sore muscles, sore feet, sore other places! It was a wonderful evening that finally culminated my daughter's scholastic life-at least for the moment!!