Not A Party Animal

I have finally managed to roll to the computer after eating way too much great food last night. We had a graduation party for Brooke although she is not the party type and probably would have rather had a quiet night with a season of CSI or Bones. I felt like I should do something for her and an opportunity to gather friends should not be passed over.

The guest list was a mix of my friends, and a few each of Brooke's and Erin's. To clarify how not a social butterfly Brooke is, as one of the girls was leaving, one who Brooke has played soccer with since first grade, she said, "I am glad that I finally got to see your house." Sad, but true.

We had fajitas for dinner. If any of you are ever looking for a great meal for a large group of people with dietary likes, dislikes and restrictions that run the gamut and then some, I recommend fajitas.
VEGANS - tortillas filled with grilled veggies
VEGETARIANS - add a little cheese and sour cream to the above
CARNIVORES - skip the veggies, just meat please
WELL ROUNDED EATERS - pile it all on
Add some tasty salsa, homemade tortilla chips, pinto beans, fruit and a cooler full of sangria (adults only) and you have the perfect party meal. It is even better if you have people who love you enough to bring the hot off the skillet tortillas.

Brooke really did not like being the guest of honor. Throughout this whole graduation process, she has not wanted to have a big deal made over her. She tried to get out of going to the senior awards assembly and the district wide recognition program. She was not successful. It looks bad when the salutatorian is a no show. Unfortunately she was not safe in her own home either. Lucky for her, the only chore she had to do as the honoree was to open her gifts - not a bad job.

She was most appreciative of the generosity that was shown her. Interestingly though, she did not expect gifts. I know kids who ordered a bunch of graduation announcements just they could send them all out hoping to rake in the gifts that each should inspire. Brooke did not send out her announcements. The main reason for this was because her name was misspelled on the calling cards that were to be included. It looks bad when the top of the class can't even spell their own name correctly! I offered to have them reprinted; she said she did not care. She did not think that she was owed gifts. For this, I am proud of her. Nonetheless, she did get a bunch of cool stuff -

• Batman Lego from her sister. Every college freshman needs some Lego to remind them of those early years. I hope she leaves some of those little pieces on her dorm room floor to keep out unwanted guests.
• A fleece blanket in University of Chicago colors - someone else knows that she is going to freeze her butt off next year even if she has not taken delivery on that little fact yet.
• A flash drive so that she can take all the pictures, in a compact and concise format, of her beloved family with her to school, and proudly share them with all of her friends
• A nice pen so that she can hand write a letter to me each evening
• A Harley Davidson T-Shirt from the Temple, Texas shop, which she can wear as a sign of how proud she is of her Texas roots.
• The Book of Useless Knowledge so she can look up all those things that I have told her over the past 17 years and see if it all really is useless information.
• Cash that she can put in her savings account and save so that she can care for me in my old age.

Yep! A nice selection of stuff.

In all seriousness, it was a fun evening. Brooke was not overflowing with enthusiasm or social grace, but I do think that she appreciated all that was done for her. She, like me, has a hard time being in the spotlight. Rest easy, Brooke; it will not be your turn again for a while!