Our family has more than our fair share of birthdays. I need both hands and one foot, I think, to count all the family and friends with birthdays in June. Mine being one of them...at the very tail end of the month. Dear daughter's birthday is on the summer solstice. It seems fitting, to have a summer girl for me and Gary. She is, after all, our sunshine.
This year we had two graduations in the immediate family. Granddaughter #1 graduated from high school. Big congratulations out to her-it was tough work, and she was persistent, and finished all her required credits for the diploma. She actually has been attending college for her junior and senior year, in the Running Start program. This program has been in place for over twenty years; it gives high school students the opportunity to work on a college Associate Degree in conjunction with their high school diploma. Some of the kids do very well, and earn both simultaneously. The trouble with the program is that neither the college nor the high school have counselors dedicated to these particular students. The students have to work really, really hard to figure out which classes at the college will count as the necessary credits for the high school. Choosing the proper classes, passing them without dropping them, and making sure that all the senior student projects, etc., are completed on time is very challenging. The whole process has been like this for years. Dear daughter did her high school diploma this way, although she did take some classes at the high school, some at the college. Needless to say, granddaughter, we are very proud of you!
Granddaughter #2 graduated from middle school to high school. Although not quite as "noteworthy" as the high school diploma, this graduation is fraught with its own challenges. One of granddaughter #2's biggest hurdles has been that she is a bit younger than her classmates. She is, ahem, however, quite brilliant. She won a Presidential Award for Outstanding Academics, signed by President Obama. She maintained a grade point average of between 3.0 and 3.5 from sixth grade through first semester of eighth grade. Pretty amazing, I would say, as she also participated in sports all three years, as well as maintained her very busy social calendar. So very proud of her, too!
Daughter had her birthday this weekend. Lots of fun-I love to see her smile. Big loves, daughter!
I decided to have surgery this month. It sort of threw my workout schedule into chaos. I had a rather large cyst on my forehead. Oh, you say, you didn't know this? I have always been pretty good at hiding it with my hair. I had it removed once; the doctor didn't quite get all of it, so it grew back. I have had it all my life-I was ready for it to be gone permanently. So, I had my GP recommend somebody, and he decided to remove it via same-day surgery. Wow. That was last Monday (today is Saturday). Stitches come out on Monday. It is painful and tight in the general area, but the doctor says it should be gone for good this time. One can only hope! I had quite the shiner this week; all that fluid had to go someplace, so it decided to hang out around my eye. Loverly!
I hope to get back to training next week, after the stitches are removed. I have missed my workouts; I really can't believe how much I have truly missed them. Rather difficult to work out with a swollen eye, stitched-up head, and on pain meds. I'm not really supposed to drive on the meds, either. I don't even want to talk about the difficulties of hair washing...I went up to see my hairdresser the other day, because I couldn't stand the way my hair looked and felt. Ugh-I couldn't imagine if I was getting sweaty, too! (Oh, and for the record, I am still trying to stick with my proper nutrition program, regardless of my lack of workouts. I feel it is important to keep the foods healthy, not only to keep my weight stable while I am out of commission, but also to allow my body to heal quickly and properly.)
Now we will be gearing up for our annual Independence Day party-probably the last one. The kids are all growing up, and it is so much work to put the party on; I am so ready to let somebody else take over.
So, that is what June has been like. Here's what tonight's sky looked like-we couldn't see the "super moon" because of cloud cover, but here is the spectacular sunset. Enjoy!
