Graduation

Youngest Daughter is graduating from high school next month, and we scheduled her graduation party for this afternoon. She and Eldest Son also held a vocal music recital Saturday, with snacks for that one too. So it has rained drink and snowed food lately.

The recital was my wife's idea; she'd had one when she was young and thought it would be a great milestone for the two as they performed by themselves (well, with an accompanist from the music school), not as part of a school event.

It was a great milestone. Eldest Son concentrated on humor (Gilbert and Sullivan, Weird Al Yankovic, and his own Wiley Coyote version of American Pie), and Youngest Daughter on more romantic and dramatic works; culminating with a joint "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" which had everybody roaring. As is customary, he modified the Gilbert and Sullivan songs to use current events instead of Victorian references, so half the songs bore his creative touch, and he has a good ear.

Youngest Daughter sang strong and clear, with good body language, and a puckish gleam in her eye as she went for the dramatic high note. You could tell she enjoyed the songs, from the pathos of "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel" to the matter-of-fact absurdity of "Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat." The romantic songs in particular strike a note with her, and it shows.

How far they've come. It wasn't that long ago that Eldest Son didn't think he could sing at all, and that Youngest Daughter couldn't speak consecutive sentences in company.

One of my sisters and her husband came up to be there, and I was delighted to have them. The stars were too, though they're still not good at extemporaneous expressions--they still find scripted situations easier to deal with. The other daughters took their aunt and uncle out to show them what Wisconsin was all about--the Arboretum, brats, and beer. And mosquitoes, though that wasn't part of the plan.

A wonderful weekend all around--busy but fun.

This weekend we go down for my youngest sister's wedding, and the next weekend is Youngest Daughter's graduation ceremony, and the next day I head off the Geneva again.