Memorial Day

Did anyone go to a parade today?  Hear a speech?  Put the flag out?  Have a barbecue?  Summer is officially here.  It's grand!
 
So was Annie's graduation.  Hard to believe it went by so fast.  I bet Annie's thinking the 4 years went by so fast.  Highlights included dinner at an Indian restaurant the night before (as we had done with both Joe and Margaret); being joined by Peter, Janet and Johanna (thank you!!); staying at Red Roof Inn was just like the Point; packing up Annie's stuff with help; getting a Hamilton sweatshirt (or two); seeing Annie before the ceremony; a nice speech by the founder of Ms. magazine and current head of Hearst magazines; an easy picnic lunch; an easy drive home.  Annie graduated with distinctions in Spanish and Psychology and a lot of good friends and good memories. 
 
We stopped by Grandma's on the way up on Friday and had dinner with her and Peter on Friday evening. She is well, and continues to walk to get some strength back. Mary and I had stopped at the Jersey shore on the way up; it was cold and windy but still nice to see the ocean. We had seen the movie the Wrestler and expected it would be more seedy, but it was very nice.

We drove back right after graduation and had Monday to catch up, with housecleaning and yard work, before the big storms hit. We were in touch with Peter and Janet who were in the same storms but had the sense to stop and get dinner, an anniversary dinner at that! Margaret and Annie stayed and drove back on Monday, leaving early enough to miss the traffic.

Annie is home for a couple of months before she starts her new job at a residential school for autistic children near Boston. Margaret and Joe gave her for graduation a real world basket, full of stuff she'll need, like a spatula, a movie called 9 to 5, and other assorted objects. She's off!

Love from down here.