Katelyn told us all about a year ago that she thought she'd graduate in August 2012 and to begin planning for the event. I waited until about a month ago to get really serious about getting there. I missed her high school graduation because the dumb ol' Army scheduled Harris' Purple Heart Ceremony for the same day back in 2008, but I digress. Having completed all the required courses for a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, Kate was planning to walk the stage on Saturday, August 4, 2012 at 9:00 AM. I was determined to be there. A few moments on the Southwest Airlines website made it clear I would not be flying to Birmingham and then driving to Tuscaloosa. If I wanted to go, it would be in my car. I started casting about for fellow travelers as soon as I realized I was looking at 13 hrs of driving - EACH DIRECTION! Curtis thought going along was a great idea and Clayton also agreed. I know that the entire clan would loved to have gone along but these guys had the clearable calendars so they were in.
At the 5 hour mark of the designated route was Tyler - bingo! - housing! Mom graciously waited up very late on Thursday night for the 3 of us to arrive after having worked all day. She got up and fixed breakfast for us Friday AM and sent us on our way. She then drove to Houston, picked up my brother, Currie and they flew to Birmingham and rented a car. We drove 8 hours. Actually, we drove 4 hours to Vicksburg, Mississippi and took a break. I got us some fried chicken to take to the Military Park and in we went. Mom had reminded me that her great-grandfathers name was on the Wisconsin monument in the park in recognition of his service in the Civil War. We began the driving tour and Clayton and Curtis were immediately entranced. We stopped at the huge Illinois marble monument and they took photos and video. It's pretty impressive in it's construction and there are bats living in the recesses of the carvings so it was cool to see. We stopped at a couple more spots along the way but then we got to the Wisconsin memorial. The names of all the soldiers who served were in bronze on plaques covering well over 50 feet of wall space but each group was alphabetized so we started at opposite ends and searched for Peter Peterson - I won!! The boys saw their 3X-great-grandfathers name on a Civil War monument. It was somewhat indescribable for them. Vicksburg National Military Park needs more time than we had to devote to it that day. I hope someday they will go back and see all it has to offer. We had to eat our chicken and hit the road.
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| Laura and Kate at Baumhowers |
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| Matt & Jordan |
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| Clayton & Curtis |
Four hours later, we were in Tuscaloosa. Lots of family had already arrived and when Mom and Currie rolled in from Birmingham, we all went to dinner. Kate was so happy to see us all and just glowed with excitement. We had lots of fun and great conversation. After dinner, some grown-ups went back to the hotel to crash and some grown-ups went out with the graduate and her entourage. They called it a night just before 4:00 AM.
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| One Happy Graduate |
Kate had to be at pre-graduation festivities at 7:30 so she was up and gone pretty quickly. The rest of us go to the Coleman Coliseum at 8:20, the procession began at 8:30 and the ceremony began at 9. There were about 1,500 graduates. A few hundred PhD's, a few hundred Masters and several hundred bachelors candidates who all paraded across the stage to accept the symbols of their accomplishments. The cheers for Katelyn's name were the loudest due to a really big entourage sitting all together. It was loud and great.
After graduation, we all caravanned to Carmelo's for brunch. Great meal, lots of laughing, a glowingly beautiful graduate and beautiful weather made it all perfect. Now to go all our separate ways - The Marston's and McLaren's back to Fairhope, Matt and Jordan back to Chattanooga, Mom, Currie, Laura, Kate and Lex to Birmingham to see UAB where Lex is now attending and us back to Texas. We took a rest first. I even tried to go to the only quilt shop in Tuscaloosa but it is closed. It is full of fabric and tools and patterns, but it is closed (I was sad about that). The boys and I left about 4 and drove back to Vicksburg. Since the park was closed, we did the next best thing. We went gambling on a casino boat. We left with eleven dollars and change more than we went in with and then had a bite at Waffle House. We got to Mom's house about 1:30 and I woke up about 7:40 this morning. The boys got up and we went to Kathy's to eat breakfast and visit. They left for church and we drove 5 more hours to get home. We went a little over 1,600 miles in just under 72 hours. It was so much fun and all three of us are so very glad we went. Thanks Kate, for such a great celebration of your awesome accomplishment!
