The Banquet

 Brandon was invited to speak at the Romance Languages banquet.  He was one of two speakers and just sort of mentioned it in passing in case Ike and I wanted to attend.  I am always willing to show up to an event that has free food so we showed up.  The first speaker was this adorable young guy who had just finished his Bachelor's Degree.  He had a whole crew of boisterous fans in tow and his talk was fantastic.  He told about attending a family reunion and how his great grandfather wept when he was able to speak his native tongue with a member of the younger generation.  Everyone was delighted.
I was nervous for Brandon.  It isn't easy to follow an act like that.
But then he started talking and there was a clear distance between the Bachelor's and the PhD.  He was quoting philosophers and poets from Italian, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.  I don't remember all the details but I remember he talked about how in our society it often seems that the loudest voice wins the argument but the true academic is the one who takes the time to listen and to learn from people who see the world from a different perspective. He also talked about how the training he had as a PhD student prepared him to work for the State Department.
I can't describe how lovely it was.  The professors were all bawling. 
It was clear that he had made the jump and he no longer belongs with the students and he has become the professional. 
I was pretty impressed. 


I figured since it has been 5 years of my kids attending Buena Vista that I should volunteer at least once. I kind of avoided the school, actually.  My heart wants to be super involved in the PTO but I have thought we were leaving town soon for the last 5 years.  Since this was actually, for real, the last year I actually volunteered at the jogathon.

 The girls ran and played with their friends and I wished that I wasn't volunteering because then I could have run with them. 

 The flowers in Eugene are incredible!!!!  I can't get over how gorgeous they can be, especially after a long rainy winter the colors are magical.

 We spent the evening at Hendricks Park with the Young Women.  I sure have loved these girls.

Leader Friends