About Yesterday...

I forgot to mention some of the things that happened. I had some brain fog yesterday. I guess the excitement was too much for me. By the time I got home I had a 101 temp. Lupus has a way of flaring up at time. If I'm under stress, I flare up. If I'm excited, I flare up. Anything that causes my body to be out of it's 'normalness' flares me up. But the times I flare up due to excitement, are WELL worth it. Maybe I just have to be in a constant state of excitement?!

The orientation was from 8a-4p. As we walked into the ballroom, we were pretty much told where to sit. They waved to us from a distance and pointed us to our table. It was like parking your car at Disney. Except we parked our buttocks. Did I mention that the seats were non-cushy? Note to self: when I go to Daughter of the Kings' orientation, bring a cushion.

I was thankful that I decided to wear a long sleeve cotton hoodie over my tank shirt. For some reason they kept the air to 100 below zero! If anyone got hurt, they could of used my hands and feet as ice packs! Note to self: next orientation wear my ski outfit, take a fleece blanket and a thermos with hot chocolate.

I meet a very nice lady by the name of Connie and her son Same Name As My Oldest Squire. He was a football player and a soccer player at his previous school. He's hoping to play for the Alumni University. His brother is a senior there and he plays on the football team. Any way, when they were told to 'park it' at our table we hit it off. She had brought a little cooler with some snacks. She took out some grapes and started eating. She offered some to everyone at the table, but I guess everyone was still full from breakfast, cause everyone politely said, "No, thank you." More on this later. Then the presentation began. Blah... Blah... Blah... Time to split up the parents and their children. Parents were lead upstairs to another room. Children were subdivided into groups, according to their majors.

At lunchtime they had all the parents go back to the ballroom. Some of the students weren't back from their orientation. But as people were getting back, they went through the buffet line and got their lunch. When it comes to food, I set a bad example for my children. Well, to be honest, I set a bad example about a lot of things. But I'm a work in progress. Praise God for his mercy and grace! \o/ Any ways, they had a beautiful salad, delicious rolls, four different types of delectable cookies and then they had what looked like... barf! Needless to say, I didn't put any of that on my plate.

This time we could sit wherever we wanted to. Where did everyone sit? Exactly where they were told to in the beginning of the orientation. LOL! Well, except for this man that sat next to me when they took the parents to the other room. I have never met a man that talked as much as Doug did. He was friendly with everyone, but my goodness! He had a comment for just about everything! Well, I tried my hardest to walk warp speed ahead, but he found me. Good thing Connie came over and sat next to me. Whew! Between the two of us, we were able to deal with him.

When Connie brought her plate, I noticed that the 'main' lunch item wasn't on her plate. But her son had some on his plate. She looked at him and made a comment they laughed. I then whispered to her, "I couldn't bring myself to put it on my plate, it looks like dog food!" Apparently, I didn't whisper it low enough, cause Same Name As My Oldest Squire heard it and so did Soaring Amongst The Clouds. I think that at this point, she wanted to tap her flip flops three times and say, "There's no place like home, There's no place like home." Of course I apologized and said I didn't mean for him to hear what I had said. He was a good sport, he laughed about it. Next thing I know, he got up and came back with a turkey, ham wrap he had bought at one of the fast food places from the food court. No it wasn't because of my comment. He ate the dog food. but he was still hungry. Remember, he's a soccer/football player. They eat a lot. Did I mention that Soaring Amongst The Clouds didn't eat any lunch? I wondered if I had anything to do with that. But she later told me that she had the same thoughts as I. Great mind think alike. :o)

Well, while we were all eating lunch (or not) Connie made a call. She's looking into purchasing a house and having her sons live close to campus. Well, she said, "Hola, es Consuelo..." Made me laugh inside. Funny how Hispanics are sometimes given an American nickname derived from their Hispanic name. I can see how the name Connie came from Consuelo. But somehow it doesn't really fit. Years ago when we got back from Germany, I worked at a plastic surgeon's office. They liked my middle name, Milagros. But they nicknamed me Millie. It was not big deal to me, but I just never thought it fit. I know it was easier for them, but I just never thought I looked like a 'Millie'. Connie looks like a Consuelo, but Connie fits her too. She was friendly and bubbly like a Connie. Did I mention that my middle name means miracle in Spanish?

During our lunch, I had mentioned to Connie that my oldest Squire and her son share the same name. She then went on to tell me, "When Same Name As My Oldest Squire was born..." At this point her son, started smiling and got up and left. She started laughing. She said, I guess I'm embarrassing him again. She then told me that, he had told her she had embarrassed him when she took out the grapes earlier and started eating them and then offered it to everyone. He wasn't rude about it, but he couldn't believe it. She then proceeded to finish what she was going to say. " When Same Name As My Oldest Squire was born, I didn't know what to name him." That was it, nothing embarrassing.

We all know how mom's are, well some dad's too. Cause Doug jumped right in about his Bryan. Which we happen to meet too. At first when Bryan sat down, I wondered how things were going to go. You see, Same Name As My Oldest Squire and his friend, Kevin (which came to sit with us too) are jocks. They had clean cut haircuts, a fitted t-shirt (must show off our muscles! NOT!), jeans and sneakers. Bryan had somewhat of a crew cut, his hair and eye brows bleached white, some body piercing. He wore a black skull t-shirt, black pants, and sneakers with skull prints on them. But experienced parents that we are, we were all able to get along, students included. The conversations were light and friendly. Thank you Lord! There were plenty of laughs and lots of information being shared. Looks like Soaring Amongst The Clouds and Kevin will be taking some of the same classes. Kevin is also studying education, but he's gearing toward being a football coach. Soaring Amongst The Clouds will be focusing on elementary education. At least she'll know one person. :o)

Soaring Amongst The Clouds and I talked a lot on the way back home. It's about an hour ride. I'm so excited for her. There is so much for her to do and learn. I know that this will be a growing time for her. She will grow spiritually, emotionally and mentally. I told her how much I had enjoyed going and seeing all the new changes to Alumni University. How I really liked Connie and how funny she was. At this point she said, "Mom, you are just like her." The thought hadn't occurred to me. I asked her if I embarrass her. She said, "No mom, you are wacky (the closest word that comes to mind to the expressions she did) and fun. You don't embarrass me, but sometimes I'm embarrassed for you." Sweetie, don't be embarrassed for me, cause it really doesn't bother me. :o) With me, what you see is what you get.

Before Soaring Amongst The Clouds went to bed, she showed me online all the different clubs she wanted to check out. She was so excited. Funny how when she was attending the community college she felt alone and isolated. She said it was like attending a middle school and high school. Students were so "clicky". Not that she went to a school, because she was homeschooled. Well actually, she did attend school one year, she was a 7th grader at the time. The ambiance here was different. Even though it's a much LARGER school, it felt different. She felt different. She felt like she could belong. All the students there were transfer students. Like her, they didn't know anyone else. They welcomed a friendly smile and gesture.

Now this doesn't mean that she will conform and do as the world would have her do, think or say. No matter where she goes, she will always stand out. Not because of her looks, or what she wears, but because of who she is. She has her convictions, her standards. She has her ideas of morals and values. She will not conform. She is wise beyond her years. She's proven herself over and over. She is God's girl and you can't help but see His light shinning through her.

As she was about to say good night, she thanked me for going with her. Be still my heart...