This weekend, memorial day weekend, I am celebrating something I really want to commemorate - my adoption. This morning Bob and I went to my attorneys office and signed adoption paperwork. After lunch we went to the courthouse to file the paperwork. There is one piece remaining before it's final, my attorney is going to send out a notice to my mom informing her of the event. This was required by the judge before he would sign the document. It's a formality since my mom was the first person I told and she consented. Fiona and her daughter Delenn accompanied us today and took pictures along the way.
Tonight we had an adoption party. All of my good friends from Kansas City came and celebrated with us. It was sooooo much fun. The adoption party was hosted at Fiona's house. When we arrived there were pink balloons and a sign over the garage - "It's a Girl" Too cool! We ate appetizers, ordered pizza, and had an ice cream cake. Many people brought cards. Angela found some very special cards and it was at that point I started crying, it didn't stop for some time. Darlene had an engraved picture of Bob and I made for each of us. The picture was from his visit at Christmas. Yasmine and Gamil brought each of us a plant. Fiona made each of us a scrapbook from the day's events. Amazing! I don't know how she pulled it all together in such a short amount of time? She hosted the party, accompanied us most of the day, and made two scrapbooks. It's official - she's superwoman.
My contribution was a little game of my own design. It was a combination of three games; trivial pursuit, 20-questions, mixed with Two Truth's and a Lie. The purpose was to tell my adoption story. The questions related to things like when we first met, when he taught me to drive, laughing at the size of his hands, things we share in common and things we like to disagree about - our shared passions, faith and memories. It was a wonderful celebration of a very special day. I have a plant, scrapbook and engraved photo frame to remind me. What a wonderful memorial day, I will remember it forever!
Friday, May 26, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Graduation Time
It's that time of year again - all graduation, all the time. Since I work in an academic environment, graduation seems to mark the pulse of time for me. It symbolizes completion. I generally spend the summer setting professional goals for the coming academic year, only to start the process all over again. This year it is bitter-sweet because graduation is also marking the end of my career as an advisor.
Thursday night was the realization of a dream for me. When I took this job two years ago one of my goals was to improve the International Studies MA program. One of the improvements I wanted to make was to recognize the accomplishments of its students. With the help of a group of student leaders the dream became reality. Approximately 50 people attended the inagural recognition ceremony. With no funding we pulled off a full-course meal, appetizers and desserts included, made possible by generous donations from corporate sponsors, students and the community. Amazing! By all accounts the night was a success.
I had viewed the event as my official adieu to the job (even though I have two months remaining). The students surprised me. They interrupted the program to recognize me at the event, they said it was hard to do since I was so involved with the planning. They gave me flowers, kind words, as well as a scrapbook of pictures and thank you cards. It made me cry. I will cherish the scrapbook for years to come. I am so proud of their accomplishments. I can't think of a better send off to the next chapter of my life. One student also told me she nominated me for the KU Women of Distinction award. Like the Oscars...its just an honor to be nominated.
I'm going to miss seeing these students weekly, but I'm certain I will keep in touch with many of them in the future.
Thursday night was the realization of a dream for me. When I took this job two years ago one of my goals was to improve the International Studies MA program. One of the improvements I wanted to make was to recognize the accomplishments of its students. With the help of a group of student leaders the dream became reality. Approximately 50 people attended the inagural recognition ceremony. With no funding we pulled off a full-course meal, appetizers and desserts included, made possible by generous donations from corporate sponsors, students and the community. Amazing! By all accounts the night was a success.
I had viewed the event as my official adieu to the job (even though I have two months remaining). The students surprised me. They interrupted the program to recognize me at the event, they said it was hard to do since I was so involved with the planning. They gave me flowers, kind words, as well as a scrapbook of pictures and thank you cards. It made me cry. I will cherish the scrapbook for years to come. I am so proud of their accomplishments. I can't think of a better send off to the next chapter of my life. One student also told me she nominated me for the KU Women of Distinction award. Like the Oscars...its just an honor to be nominated.
I'm going to miss seeing these students weekly, but I'm certain I will keep in touch with many of them in the future.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
L.O.U.D.
Pop Quiz: Do you remember my motto for the year? (No cheating. You can't look at an earlier entry to figure it out.)
If you remembered, give yourself 10 points. If not, don't fret...I'll tell you. My motto for the year is to Live Louder!
Recently I was speaking with an old acquaintance and getting reacquainted. She is the Executive Director of an organization that helps families who are left behind when someone is sent to prison. They mostly help children. They also help prisoners transition back into society. They have started a program for children they call L.O.U.D. It caught my attention and sparked my curiousity. I asked her what the acronym meant. It was appropriate to my motto so I thought I'd share.
Live
Out
Unrealized
Dreams
L.O.U.D. - I like it!
If you remembered, give yourself 10 points. If not, don't fret...I'll tell you. My motto for the year is to Live Louder!
Recently I was speaking with an old acquaintance and getting reacquainted. She is the Executive Director of an organization that helps families who are left behind when someone is sent to prison. They mostly help children. They also help prisoners transition back into society. They have started a program for children they call L.O.U.D. It caught my attention and sparked my curiousity. I asked her what the acronym meant. It was appropriate to my motto so I thought I'd share.
Live
Out
Unrealized
Dreams
L.O.U.D. - I like it!
Mother's Day
To all the mother's out there - I hope you had an excellent mother's day. I hope you felt appreciated for your hard work, sacrifice and effort. My mom is far away, we spoke on the phone, but it only served to as a reminder of the distance between us.
I spent mother's day with my surrogate families. Saturday my friend Angela got the best mother's day gift ever!! Okay, the best mother's day gift for adrenaline junkies. There is a NASCAR speedway in our city. Her husband paid for her to take a rookie driver course, do a ride along, and drive eight laps around the track. Wow!! Her top speed was 136 MPH. I stood on the sidelines with her family and cheered her on. What a fun gift. The best part about it, it was just for her. It wasn't a gift to share with the kids or spouse, in fact none of them are interested in it, at least not as much as she is. It was a thoughtful and generous mother's day celebration. I was honored to be a part of it. Sunday I met my friend Fiona and her girls for lunch. We decided it was a special day so all of us dressed up in our Indian clothes to go to TGIFridays. You can guess we drew some attention in our traditional unconventional outfits, but it was fun and a great memory.
Both of these families will be moved by the end of the year, likely by the time I start school in the fall. I am trying to enjoy the time I have left with them.
I spent mother's day with my surrogate families. Saturday my friend Angela got the best mother's day gift ever!! Okay, the best mother's day gift for adrenaline junkies. There is a NASCAR speedway in our city. Her husband paid for her to take a rookie driver course, do a ride along, and drive eight laps around the track. Wow!! Her top speed was 136 MPH. I stood on the sidelines with her family and cheered her on. What a fun gift. The best part about it, it was just for her. It wasn't a gift to share with the kids or spouse, in fact none of them are interested in it, at least not as much as she is. It was a thoughtful and generous mother's day celebration. I was honored to be a part of it. Sunday I met my friend Fiona and her girls for lunch. We decided it was a special day so all of us dressed up in our Indian clothes to go to TGIFridays. You can guess we drew some attention in our traditional unconventional outfits, but it was fun and a great memory.
Both of these families will be moved by the end of the year, likely by the time I start school in the fall. I am trying to enjoy the time I have left with them.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
The Windy City
I just returned from a girl's weekend in Chicago - the windy city (there is a reason for that nickname - the wind never stops blowing and it is cold coming off Michigan Lake. Brrr!) Last summer my good friend Camille moved there, I've been trying to visit her ever since. A year later I finally made it...better late than never. My good friend Elaine accompanied me. Camille and Elaine have been friends for 20 years. Amazing isn't it? I came into the picture nearly seven years ago. It's great to have friends with that kind of staying power. We had a great time and packed a lot in to a short weekend. We visited the new Freedom Museum; it brings the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence to life in an interactive way. We went to the Sear's Tower Sky Deck - a must see in Chicago! We visited Merchandise Mart, millennium Park, and other tourist spots. We did a theatre walking tour. Ate lots and lots of good food. Celebrated Cinco de Mayo. Visited a photo and pottery exhibit. The highlight of the trip for me was the one show we went to see - Floss! Ever heard of it? It was advertised as a musical dance satire - whatever that means? I saw the show and still don't understand. I'd heard it was funny. The premise is a tribe trapped on an island off the coast of Australia, the island is sinking and they need to find a new home. The word "floss" stands for individual calling or purpose. The villagers discover their "floss" along the way. It wasn't high quality theatre, but I found it thoroughly entertaining. Elaine described it as "interesting," I told her that's what people say when they are trying to be polite and actually don't like something. She later revised it to be "interesting fun." I had a great time. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more. Me and the lady sitting next to me (a stranger previously) were the loudest in the crowd (difficult to imagine I'm sure). This was her second time seeing it. At the end of the show, the actors described us as "a lively crowd." I think it was mostly the two of us making the noise. This was my third trip to Chicago. There are still things on my list to do and see, it is a great city to visit in the summer - the winters are brutal...remember the frigid wind?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)