Return from the hyperspace bypass

[captainsblog]

I haven't said all that much here about Emily in the past week, but it's not for lack of things to say. The past week has been even fuller for her than it's been for us.

Last Monday, she had to turn quickly from high school to college. RIT had called, the day before her graduation, about some missing stuff. She spent a good part of that day, and a bit of the next, making it un-missing. While she did that, I got her car insured and finalized the details for picking it up the next day.

That went surprisingly smoothly. We picked up the title, got in and out of DMV in under two hours, popped the plates on the new ride, and then she and a friend (who'd graciously come along for the moral support) rode with her as I led the way down a couple of back roads, then 490, and finally the Thruway, all the way home. Other than the one blithering idiot who got between us at Exit 47 and Just Wouldn't Leave, we did fine and she grew up an awful lot in those short 70 miles. On at least two occasions, Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" came on to whatever radio station I had on; that song first came out around the time I got my first car, and it became the soundtrack to a running joke between me and my sister about whether I would actually make it to any given destination when I was driving on my own.

Two nights later, when she took friends to see Airbender at the Galleria, she wound up calling me from a Delta Sonic parking lot, having lost the 90 on-ramp heading back home. "Forget that," I suggested. "Just turn right onto Union Road, 277 North, and stay on it until you know where you are." (Union Road ends about four blocks from our house.) Half an hour later, another call. "Which way did you say to turn?" The call was from West Seneca, which was a clear sign of her having turned left and gone south. Yup, definitely related to me;)

Almost as an afterthought to graduation, Emily's final report card showed up late in the week. We'd wondered how they would handle any close calls at the ceremony, perhaps like the old joke about how the Army passed out bad news to soldiers: All of you wanting to send Mothers Day cards, step forward. NOT SO FAST, Private! Turns out, it wasn't even close in her case. A 3.9 GPA for the final quarter, over 3.7 for the whole year. Smart kid is smart:)

One of our neighbors gave her a quick gig watering her plants this week while she's away, so Em's been out doing that every day. Then yesterday, the boyfriend came by for a few hours before they went off to the UB fireworks. It was such fun seeing them being all domestic together; they washed both of the dogs, puttered around the kitchen, and just watching them hanging out in front of the television was a comforting sight.

Just now, she handed me a gift from Cameron's mother to deposit into her bank account. That wasn't the wibbly part, though; this was:

"Dear Emily,
   What a blessing it has been to come to know you and your parents. You are an amazingly gifted and talented young woman. I look forward to following your career.
  We're so pleased that Cameron has been blessed with your friendship. We will keep you in thought and prayer as you pursue your studies."

What, you think there's anything I could add to THAT?

Comments

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

Wibbles indeed!! What a very nice card from Cameron's folks. This whole post made me "aaaw."

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

No one in my family could navigate. (I was at the same school in NH for 5 years. They were late for every single parent's day. They'd get lost. The school was less than 60 miles from the house.) But my sister was known as, um, special. If we simply could not decide where to go, we'd let her read the map and decide on a course -- and go the exact opposite. Worked every time.

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

The apple did not fall far from the tree, Ray. Good job.

She might want to invest in a Rand McNally Atlas, though.