In the Pagan household, the morning after convocation is best spent running
amok at the park:
David being a spider.
Charlotte: Professional Climber.
Ryder spent much of the morning on
his mom’s back, happily watching the big kids run around and play.
I can’t think of more representative
pictures that captured the dynamic between David and Charlotte than these two:
That would be my son
roaring like a dinosaur and chasing Charlotte through the grass as her dad
yells, “Run for your life, Charlotte!”
We took a break from photographing
kids to catch Maureen and Mike in a siblings picture.
The men spent the morning playing frisbee
and climbing a mountain.
Charlotte demonstrating her
photography skills.
Ryder has one speed, and that speed
is happy.
After the park, the ladies and I went
home to put the kids down for their naps.
Once everyone was asleep, Debb and I got ready and then left for the
restaurant to prepare for Jon’s graduation dinner. It’s both impressive and fun to watch Debbie
prepare for events like this—one minute she’s cutting flowers and arranging
them in mason jars, and the next minute she’s climbing up on chairs to hang
banners while ordering tea and making jokes.
Queen of multitasking. In less
than an hour, we decorated the banquet room and had time to spare before
everyone arrived.
And then everyone arrived!
What a beautiful evening. I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed it. It’s an overwhelming experience to be
surrounded by people you love, celebrating someone you love. Good food and cake were a nice bonus.
Family picture! Lest you think our child is an orphan. Ask me how long the cake was left untouched
with seven hungry children in the room...
Because it was a special occasion, and to avoid any major melt-downs, we
let the kids have cake as an appetizer before dinner. Everybody won.
Beautiful Charlotte with pretty dress
and pretty braids.
And then, oh and then, the toasting
began:) Dave began by giving a touching speech about
how proud he was of Jon and our family for our accomplishments throughout med
school.
Then I followed, with the help of
David—print out and all.
Then Uncle Mike stood up and shared a
sweet story about Jon when he was a child; about specific characteristics that
he still has as an adult and how proud he is to be his uncle.
As we say, ‘good loves.’
Then Jon’s brother Jeremy (and
Charlotte) talked about Jon’s path to med school and how proud they are of his
determination and performance.
[Listening to Jeremy]
And although I tear up even looking
at this picture, Kelly made some lovely closing remarks about how she loves Jon
like her own brother and how happy they were to watch him graduate in
person.
Jon was the last to speak. He was visibly affected by all of the kind
and loving things everyone had to say, and by all of the generous gifts they
had given him. The fact that everyone
had gotten together on his behalf was extremely touching.
So, thank you, Dave and Debb for
hosting such a wonderful dinner. Thank
you Rhonda and friends that helped tidy afterward. Thank you, Maureen, for taking pictures. Thank you Ken and Brenda for driving up from
Texas to be a part of it. Thank you everyone for your love and
encouragement.
And thank you, Jon, for working so
hard and giving us another reason to celebrate you.
