Friday, May 7, 2010...Graduation Weekend---Day 1..Part 1

It was hard to believe that Graduation weekend was about to begin. All the planning, preparation and packing were finally finished. Both Dick's and my cars were loaded and we were ready to embark on our separate journeys to the same location. Yes, that is correct. The same location!!! Unbeknownst to Dick, I booked a room at the same hotel he did. More about this later...

Dick and Marni took off around 7:00 a.m. Because I had to wait until Dick was finished in the bathroom before I could finally shower, get dressed and pack the things I still needed to use that morning, I wasn't able to leave until 9:00 a.m. As I merged onto the tollway initiating the first stretch of the long drive out to IU campus, I thought about how positively petty, ridiculous and totally childish Dick was behaving about this whole thing. What did he think he was gaining... aside from showing up before I did and making my life completely miserable??? We were both going to the same town to be a part of both OUR son's graduation festivities. Yet, it was obviously too much for Dick to travel in the same car with me. As irritated as I was at the onset, the more I drove, the more I realized what a blessing this was. At least I had peace and quiet, listened to the music I wanted to and got to stop where ever and whenever I needed to. There were a lot of positives here. And I as I began to appreciate them, I settled back and enjoyed the journey.

I was even making pretty good time. However, when I reached Indy, (where Dick and I both were staying) it was obvious that I would be cutting things way too close if I checked into the hotel and dropped my things off in my room. Oh well... you can't have everything. While stopped at a red light, I called Josh. He informed me Dick and Marni were already with him. This certainly wasn't a news flash to me. Since they left two hours before I did, not only did they have plenty of time to get settled in at the hotel before continuing on their way, they even had the luxury of sitting around relaxing with Josh before all the festivities began. Not me. I was busy playing "Beat the Clock" all morning. Before the light changed to green and I would have to hang up the phone, it was decided that I would drive to the frat and leave my car there. Then we would all grab some lunch together and walk over to the Auditorium for the Business School's ceremony recognizing the Honor Program's graduates. At that moment, it actually seemed that, for the most part, things were going to turn out okay. I was just about to give myself a proverbial pat on the back for a job well-done when all of a sudden traffic came to a complete stop. For cryin' out loud, I couldn't believe what was happening. I totally jinxed myself for having a positive thought. A very, very, very long and slow-moving train was creating a parking lot on the road for as far as the eye could see. I was stuck with no where to go. As time rapidly ticked by, I kept glancing at my watch and panic began to set in. Damn it, I thought to myself. Why does this always happen to me??? There was no way I'd be able to make it to the frat before the ceremony. I called Josh back and told him that they should eat without me. I would have to meet them at the Auditorium. Before I hung up, I asked Josh to please tell his dad to save me a seat. My heart began racing a mile a minute. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same thing about my car.

Not only was I stressed about getting to the campus and into the auditorium before the program started, but I was also famished and needed to eat something ASAP. Then the anger and the self-pity started welling up inside of me. No matter how hard I try, things always go against me. Why am I always the one who has to be rushed, stressed, starved and exhausted? How come Dick seems to sail through every experience unscathed? Where is the justice in this world?

After the train passed, I tried to make up for lost time by speeding down the highway. Fortunately, no police pulled me over, ticketed me and delayed me even further. I made it to the school in the nick of time, pulled into a parking lot and ran into the student union where I snarfed down a personal-sized Pizza Hut Veggie Pizza that I quickly snatched up in the mini, over-priced food court. Then I sprinted over to the Auditorium, found Dick and Marni sitting toward the back of the room and collapsed into the seat Marni had saved next to her. To add insult to injury, it was an extremely hot and humid day. Needless to say, I was totally disheveled, completely shvitzed and ready to keel over from heat exhaustion. Dick glared at me, disgust seeping out of every pore in his body. He of course, looked perfect as usual. So, what else is new?

About 15 minutes into the program, Marni started complaining that she couldn't see. She was very warm and clearly panic stricken. Since I just endured the morning from Hell and since her father decided that she was spending the day with him, I told her that her dad needs to handle the crisis. Dick took Marni outside. (Maybe there is a teensy-weensy bit of justice in this world after all) About a half hour later they returned. Marni told me that she was feeling much better. An Indian gentleman who was standing outside the building noticed that Marni was not doing too well. He came up to her, put his hand on her face, said a blessing in a foreign language and instantaneously Marni was healed. ( She claimed this really happened.) I asked her if she got his phone number, e-mail address, skype and/or twitter information. Since he performed a miracle for her once, maybe there was a way she could contact him on an as-needed basis. Unfortunately, she didn't obtain any of it.

The ceremony was moving and touching. Pride filled me as I watched Josh walk across the stage, receive his certificate and be acknowledged by the University. Finally, there was recognition for all his hard work, dedication and perseverance. After it was over, there was a reception in the lobby. Everywhere you turned, cameras were capturing once-in-a-lifetime images that would proudly be displayed in each graduates' home. In Josh's case, his parents were snapping "his and hers" to be displayed who knows where.

As it was the middle of the afternoon and it was too early for dinner, we decided to go back to the frat and chill for a while. Dick, Josh and Marni took off on foot. Since I had parked my car in the lot by the student union, I had to pick up my vehicle and travel solo. I felt totally alone and out-of-sorts. The reality of this impending divorce was once again rearing it's ugly head and as usual, I was fighting this disgusting monster all by myself. Exiting the parking lot, I was also socked with the charges for leaving my vehicle there for several hours. With my spirits scraping the ground, I decided to take my time meeting up with my now-broken family. With a gas tank near empty, I meandered over to a local service station. As I was paying the bill and getting ready to leave, Marni called to ask where I was and what was taking me so long. At least my sweet, kind and considerate daughter realized I was MIA and had the decency to check up on me.

Eventually I made my way back to the clan. Fortunately the air conditioning was blasting in Josh's room. Completely drained and drenched with sweat, I curled up on his bed, closed my eyes, rested and prayed that the rest of the weekend would go better than it was starting out.

Somehow I had a feeling that the answer to my prayer was going to be... not a chance in Hell!