It's that time of year....

With late spring and early summer come a ridiculous amount of tradition, especially for 18-20somethings. This year has been no exception as graduations alone have consumed the majority of my weekends. The one weekend I spent at home this month was consumed with working a holiday job at a little flower shop. I'm glad May is almost over, but it was definitely a month to be remembered.

First, one of my dearest friends, Jared, became an officer for the ARMY! So, obviously I had to be at that ceremony... Let me tell you, the whole "I'm not a civilian" concept is weird. Sometimes it all feels too much like a reality game.

Because Jared's ceremony was in Arkansas, I decided to make a trip out of it and visit friends in Joplin and Bolivar making it a five day trip of insanity. You only get so many opportunities to see your friends when they are away at college so I had to take advantage of my days off. Amanda and I found time to spend at a beach that we discovered back in 2010 with our fellow Woody ladies. We spent the weekend reminiscing about our rather odd two years together at school.

Second, was the weekend of endless graduations. Actually, there were only three graduations, it just so happened that they were all three back-to-back. The college I attended for two years held it's graduation Saturday, and because it's out of town and the majority of my friends were graduating I made a weekend out of it. My friend Carleen flew in from Minnesota and we roadtripped to Bolivar to celebrate with our best friends (and move Amanda out of her apartment). We spent friday having a girls' night with all of our favorites. Saturday was graduation and move out day (quite possibly the most exhausting day I've had in a long time).

Here's a few snapshots from that trip:

                                        Sometimes the hall you lived on turns into a sorority.

Me & Rae, a fellow Woody 2nder 

Sunday, it was time to come home to see my little AFS brother walk the stage with all of his senior friends! As his time in the U.S. is coming to an end it was good to share another tradition with him.

And last, but not least, was Monday's graduation for my dear cousin Jenny. Jenny is the second to last grandkid to graduate so of course we went BIG. I went over in the afternoon to do her hair and hangout pre-ceremony. As much as I hate to admit, I did not expect to enjoy her ceremony because I had no ties to her high school or to anyone else that was graduating. However, I was pleasently surprised when one of the students spoke about living in the moment without referencing "YOLO." It was a touching moment for everyone in attendance, it was quiet, reverant, a little silly, and sentimental.

Thankfully, the flood of graduations has come to an end.

Time for better and/or bigger things for all of the ones I love.