Hot Child(ren) in the City; or, Celebrations and Happiness

June has been a very happy month thus far. The most spectacular cause of celebration is Boy 1's high school graduation last Friday night. We celebrated all weekend and my parents made the long, arduous trip on island for the occasion. There are always flight delays and weather issues and the chance you won't make one of the very limited number of flights here when you visit. Thankfully, this was the first time in three trips my parents didn't have some sort of weird travel issue that seems the norm when traveling to GTMO. I am so thankful they were able to be here and we had a too-short but fun visit.

A plus: Rodney even got in on the graduation fun. How awesome is Cuba's only squirrel?

WT Sampson has a tradition of all graduates making a short speech thanking people who have helped them in their journeys to graduation. This is what happens when you have a small graduating class (14). It was a very personal celebration for each and every kid. I was proud of my guy and the other kids who made funny, thoughtful, sweet speeches. The ceremony went off without a hitch and the slide show was a tear jerker. I love seeing pictures from all stages of their lives, and this group of graduates is very special to me---I taught most of them for at least one class, and I worked closely with them to put the prom together last year. I've known many of them all four years we've lived here. They are a creative, smart, and really special group of kids to me and I am going to miss them terribly next year.

One of my favorites from the slide show---Baby G and my Paw Dudley, c. 2000. 

Now that graduation is over, we are moving on to summer plans. Today is the last day of school for kids and Friday's my last day. Many colleagues are leaving island Friday, too. We always stay a week or two to get our bearings before the culture shock that ensues when you make the trip back to the States. On top of that, we are traveling to visit friends in Germany and Macedonia and we're making last minute preparations for our July overseas.

Yesterday we were celebrating the near-end of the year and Boy 2 and I had another fantastic moment in Cuban radio----Nick Gilder's 70's hit "Hot Child in the City" was blaring during our blistering fast race (at 25 mph) down Sherman Ave and I actually drove under the speed limit (not easy for me) so we could loudly sing along.  Then traditional Cuban music came back on. GTMO is like that---you find the strangest, weirdest moments where you shake your head and think, "Did I really just hear/see that?" It is hotter than seven hells right now so "Hot Child in the City" seems like an appropriate theme song for this week in GTMO.

Here's to summer vacation and more of life's moments that make you pause and smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d02k10Bz6ro