On March 23, 2013, Jack graduated from UCSD with a masters degree in theater arts. I think. If that's not his exact title, it's something very close to that. His graduation just happened to coincide with spring break - kinda. In order to actually get there for the ceremony, we had to leave two whole days before spring break actually started because let me tell you, driving from Boise to San Diego is no quick trip!

Nope, it's a real long trip. Real long. Let me set the scene for you:

An attractive and moderately well-groomed family of four is traveling across the Nevada dessert in a 2010 Subaru Forester. It's late afternoon. The parents have minimal snacks for the children, no plan for dinner, and no hotel reservation, although at some point they will have to stop for the evening. They eat a shitty dinner from subway while driving into the setting sun. The father continues to ask the mother to drive but she pretends to have temporarily lost her hearing. They eventually agree to spend the night in Las Vegas thinking they will be able to find a room at the Flamingo for about $75 using the same Players Card that allowed them to stay at Harrah's in Reno for just $30. They were wrong.

Cue the first of many fights between the parents for the next 16 hours.

The mother calls the Flamingo only to be told that the cheapest room available is $275. The parents then remember that they are not the only people traveling during spring break. After a few phone calls to low budget and completely booked hotels, a bit of driving aimlessly away from The Strip, and a bit of shouting followed by the silent treatment from both parents, the attractive and now irritable family of four find themselves at the Gold Strike Hotel in Jean, Nevada where the rooms are just $40 a night and the hot tub is open until 11 pm giving them one hour to soak away their sorrows.



And that's how we started our spring break trip two days early. The next day I drove from Jean to San Diego and I was not very happy about it. I don't care for driving and I especially don't care for driving in California where everyone with a car is an asshole with a capital A! I stopped talking to Stephen somewhere near Barstow and Henry and Wyatt were not allowed to speak louder than a whisper for an entire five hours lest my concentration be disrupted. By the time we made it to the rental house my clothes were drenched in sweat and my shoulders were knotted beyond repair. And Stephen - the man who should have been driving because that's what men do - was not my favorite person until I'd had dinner and wine much later in day.

But really, the whole point of this story is to tell you about Jack's graduation, which was not your typical cap and gown BS. Quite the contrary. The weekend started with a dance performance followed by a dry run of something called The Showcase. So around 4 or 5 pm on Friday afternoon we headed over to the theater department (or some artsy building on campus) and watched Jack dance with his seven fellow graduates.



He's pretty good. I got a little teary eyed watching him because A number 1) I was just so proud of him and B number 2) I totally regret giving up dancing and it makes me a little sad to think about that ridiculous decision.

Anyway, after the performance, family members were invited to join the dancing.  Jack danced with my mom and grandmother. I danced with Henry but he wasn't what I would call a willing participant.



There was about an hour break between the dance performance and The Showcase so we all bumbled around the campus waiting for the second part of the evening to begin. There wasn't much to do but sit in this extra large and extra red but very artistic chair. And make sour faces at everyone, including the camera.



Finally it was time for The Showcase! Jack had warned me beforehand that almost all 14 performances offered a healthy dose profanity, vulgarity, or sexuality in some way. He, in particular, was in one of the most provocative pieces and would be demonstrating his range of profanity, vulgarity, and sexuality for the audience. There was definitely going to be some adult material. I told him that it was cool and plopped my two seven-year old children in the front row between myself and Dana.

And it was cool. But afterward I still felt compelled to explain my belief that it is necessary for me to expose my children to the arts in all forms. My mom told me she completely agreed and indicated (in a nonverbal way) that I didn't need to worry about what other people thought about my parenting decisions. Or maybe she just wanted me to stop talking. Either way, Jack gave two very moving performances and am I glad we were able to participate in the Friday evening activities.



Presumably there are two more acts just waiting the wings...but you all see how frequently I post these days. Plus, Jack graduated in March, I started writing this post in June, and it's now mid-August. Add up all those factors and it may be another six months before I post Act Two. Point being, that as much as I look forward to sharing these stories, I just want to make sure that your expectations are appropriately low!