Windy City, here we come

This time tomorrow, Julia and I will be either trundling our luggage around on the El or Megan will have been able to pick us up. (I'm hoping for the latter!) Megan graduates Saturday and Julia and I will be the first of the family to arrive. Bob and the boys are driving to my parents' house, so my dad won't have to drive in the city (and we don't all fit in our car, anyway). Bob, the boys and my parents are all going to stay with my youngest brother, who lives only an hour from Chicago, on Friday night, so they don't have so far to drive Saturday. And our oldest son is supposed to fly to Chicago on Friday night, provided he gets his plane ticket -- but this is the boy who didn't get his tux measurements or try on a tux until the morning of his sister's wedding, so why should I be surprised. (It seems that traveling has always been complicated for our family. Maybe that's because there's so many of us. Or maybe that's just how it is sometimes.)

At any rate, we should all be together for Megan's graduation and it should be a fun time. I'll probably get emotional and I suspect Megan will, too. And maybe my mom and Julia. Maybe all of us. Megan's not the youngest, but she is the youngest daughter and she's still her daddy's "peanut" (whether she wants to admit it or not).

Megan's sojourn at North Park has flown by. I know it's cliche, but just because it is doesn't mean it's not true. It doesn't feel like it's been almost four years since the day I left her at school. Julia got married on Aug. 18, 2001, and then four days later I moved Megan to Chicago. It is an understatement to say I was feeling a little stressed. But after I got in the car to leave, it started to rain and I realized that I was going to have to drive out of Chicago alone, in the rain, during rush hour. But I made it and I'm not nearly so terrified of driving in a big city now. (What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?) That was only the beginning of epic drives at the beginning and end of the school year. Now it's the last epic drive (well, it's not exactly a drive since I'm flying, but you know what I mean). Megan will be out on her own and making her way in the world.That's how it should be, but I'll probably cry a little anyway. Not all tears are bad ...

So if I don't blog anymore this week, you'll know why. :)