In NY, and I was there. My 2 local brothers and I drove up on Saturday and stayed in New Jersey, not far from the GW bridge. So much cheaper than hotels in NY. On Sunday morning, we made a wrong turn and ended up in Manhattan. That worked out really well. We got to drive by a lot of the sights, like Times Square, which was mobbed with pedestrians. Beautiful day to drive around the city. Traffic was not too heavy either. Found our way out to Long Island through Queens, which I had never done before.
The graduation was ridiculously long, over 2-1/2 hours. They rattled off each student's achievements, including "academic high-school diploma". No shit! Everyone in a cap and gown gets one of those. I think they could have shaved a half hour off the commencement by omitting the obvious.
My daughter did great. She's in the National Honor Society and got a plaque for 4 years in the honor roll. Got certificates of merit in 4 subjects, and 4 scholarships and grants for NYU, where she's going in the fall, as well as 4 others for Rochester Institute of Technology, where she isn't going. Presidential Award for Educational Excellence . . . and yes, "academic high-school diploma".
The graduation party was on a boat. That was fun. We cruised along the shoreline from Freeport, ate, drank, watched the women dance (I did hop around for a bit myself) and generally had a great time. Got to see lots of her family and friends, who have become my friends over the decades too. It's a shame my ex and I can't get along that well.
Speaking of which, I know I've mentioned the latest drama between us involving child support. The short story is that I've been paying way too much since I lost my last job, and that basically bankrupted me. I learned from Que that child support is not set in stone by the divorce decree, as I thought, and that I was entitled to a review. Well, involving myself in that process basically ended up becoming a federal case. Just a big clusterfuck of lawyers and hurt feelings which even affected my relationship with my daughter. She didn't even want me to contact her, much less show up at her doorstep. So it was a great relief when gentle perseverance paid off, and I got officially invited mere days before the event. I was going to the commencement come hell or high water, but what I didn't know is that I needed tickets to get into it. That would have been interesting. "Oh yes I'm going in there! That's my daughter's graduation, and I've paid dearly for her education!" I'm sure some girl taking tickets would have been very moved by that. (Right.)
When I said my goodbyes, she asked if she could still come to Ohio, which almost made me cry. I only lost her for a few weeks, but they were interminable. Things worked out, and in order to relieve the killing stress of the ordeal, I've been power walking several miles a day since April. I'm in decent shape now, and I feel great. I'm also seeing someone, and the future seems brighter than it has in years.
[Edit: silly typo in subject line]
