Pomp and Circumstance(s)

Under the circumstances, things went well.
What circumstances? Read on and see...
Circumstance number 1. Mary graduates
I was sincerely excited to be with all of my husband's McIlrath clan to celebrate Tim's sister, Mary's graduation from the University of Southern California. Nevertheless, traveling from Phoenix to LA with a two year old and an 11 month old was not going to be some small event. Days in advance I was doing laundry and making mental lists of what needed to be going with us...mostly to ensure a solid night's sleep for the two wee ones. Thursday morning arrives and I am feeling extremely guilty as I pack up the car because my children's eyes have been glued to the TV for an hour watching Elmo, Clifford, and Caillou. So much for my pre-child mantra of "not EVER letting my children watch that evil picture box".
Well, the car is all packed and we have empty bladders and are ready to go. That leads me to circumstance number 2. Close on the house
Yes, we had to close on our house in Knoxville that very Thursday morning. Some date that the sellers set, but we agreed to it not thinking that it was the very day we had to leave for California. Luckily, my very on-the-ball husband had all of his ducks in a row for the closing and got as much done as possible before hand so all we had to do was go to the title agency, sign a ton of stuff and then she would make the call to the seller's attorney and bam we have a house. Well, we did just that. Bam! we are now homeowners of a quaint 4 bedroom 3 bath house in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Circumstance number 3. saying goodbye
I must remember that when I say goodbye, there is bound to be a hello coming. Yin and yang. Up and down. Mary said goodbye to her undergraduate college years, but maybe she will say a hello to grad work someday soon. We had a lovely time in California with the family and they loved being with us. I take that back - they LOVED being with Eric and Amy. We had to say goodbye after a wonderful visit, but I am looking forward to this summer when we will say hello to another visit. And I know that I must say goodbye to Phoenix and all of my dear ones here, but there will come a hello.