Graduation, Girlfriends, And A Pig Roast
As I explained in the installment about Luke's graduation last year (Graduation, Box Seats, And Chicago), my grandpa (Pop-Pop) and my cousin Austin were the only out-of-towners who came. This year for Josh's graduation, Pop-Pop brought his friend Sara, and Austin's mom, Aunt Alicia, also came. On the day of the party (Saturday, May 27th), my Aunt Eva and Uncle Zach also flew up. My girlfriend, Pagie, is from a big family, and every year, her parents host a pig roast for her Dad's side of the family over Memorial Day weekend. Coincidentally, the pig roast happened to be on the same weekend Josh graduated.
On that Friday, I arrived at Paige's house around 2:15. We hung out for about an hour and 15 minutes before her cousin Marcus, came with his kids. We played with the kids for 30 minutes, and then I had to get back to my parent's house, so we could all head to St. Charles Preparatory High School for the graduation Mass. My grandma and step Grandpa (Nimba and Papa), Alicia and Austin, met Pop-Pop, Sara, Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, and me, at St. Charles. Toward the end of the Mass, all 114 people in Josh's class received their diplomas; the Mass ended, everyone cheered, and the graduates threw their caps.
Josh had an after-party, so the rest of my family went to dinner at a distillery. Coincidentally, the distillery that we went to was only four minutes away from an Irish bar that Paige's family was at. So my family dropped me off, and I said hi to the cousins I had already met and introduced myself to those I had not. I spent the night talking and playing darts with Paige's cousins and her mom.
One of Paige's cousins, Kelly, got married in February. It was a small wedding, so a reception was held on Saturday afternoon since the family was in town. I arrived at the house where the reception was held about 20 minutes after Paige and her mom did. After I mingled for a little bit, Paige and I left to go to Dad's Studio (Kobolt) for Josh's graduation party.
We got coffee to keep ourselves going and then entered the party. We began to mingle, and I introduced Paige to my extended family and friends she had not met yet. The entire party went by quickly, but everyone told me how much they loved Paige the whole time. Toward the end of the party, Mom offered to let Paige stay at her house on the couch since she had to sleep on the floor at her house. After Josh's party ended, Paige and I returned to her house to begin the two-day pig roast. Her extended family gradually arrived until 10:20, when embers from the fire were put into the pit, and the pit was covered to cook the pig. An hour later, everyone gathered around, and last year's Christmas tree was burned to kick off the next day's celebration.
Yet another one of Paige's cousins, Chris, is getting married in mid-June, so all the women went to a bridal shower on Sunday morning. After Mass, my family and I went to lunch, and when we got back to my parent's house, Paige, her mom, her aunt Ronnie (Marcus' mom), and her Granddaughter were waiting to pick me up. Our families met, introductions were made, and Marcus' daughter chased me (and, more comically, Luke) around the house. While I was occupied, Ronnie and Austin got to talking and discovered that they both live in Pittsburgh, and they got each other's numbers to meet up at some point.
We got back to Paige's house, and once Paige's Grandma, who had just turned 100, arrived at 4:00, the pig was dramatically taste tested, and we all ate. Shortly after, Paige and I left to go bowling with my immediate family, Pop-Pop, Sara, Eva, Zach, Austin, Alicia, and the Mitreys (Alex, Nicholas, and Ellie… Maci is in Spain). After bowling, we returned to my parent's house. Mom, Eva, Zach, Austin, Alicia, Paige, and I played board games late into the night.
This was one of my favorite weekends in recent memory. For one thing, obviously, I'm happy that Josh graduated high school. For another, since Eva's mom, no one has met any of Pop-Pop's significant others. Plus, I'm too young to remember them as a couple, so it was nice to meet Sara. Mirroring my second point, while my immediate family (and Pop-pop) have met some of my previous girlfriends, no one else has met them. On top of that, I have met the families of two of my exes. Still, one was a high school relationship, so it wasn't serious. As you may recall, the only family member Gabby had left was her Grandmother (who hated me). All of this to say, the level of love Paige and I have received from the other's extended family is something neither of us has experienced before, and we're both still riding that high a week later!
Congratulations on graduating Josh,
can't wait to hear about your Greattastic college experience!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri
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