Graduation Preparations

Frank and I were discussing the events of the upcoming week, leading up to his graduation on Friday the 13th. Hello, planners? Were you looking at the calendar? Some people do not like Friday the 13th. Frank's maternal grandma and her sister, may they rest in peace, would not leave the house on Friday the 13th. Of course, they would not leave the house on most days, but they made a special point not to go out on those specific Fridays.

Anyway, Frank said that he did have to play in the band after all. He thought he was off the hook after the last concert. I did warn him that seniors usually had to join the band for a song during the graduation program, although they escape playing the processional/recessional.

So yes, he does join the band for one song. He said, "At least I don't have to play Pomp and Circumstance for 20 minutes." Which reminded me of a certain high school graduation 30 years ago. The processional was "The Theme from Star Wars." The recessional was "We Are The Champions" by Queen. We were the coolest class!

There is a question: is a kilt an acceptable substitute for dress pants? Or the corollary, is he brave enough to wear it?

He is 16...going on 17...

I don't talk about Frank as much as I do Ernest... he's definitely quieter, but equally interesting. Frank is nearing his 17th birthday. A month ago I told him he could have a cell phone for his birthday. He's probably the last of his friends to get a phone. We send a shared phone with him when he goes out, but he doesn't have one of his own. Anyway, I said: pick out your own phone and plan and I'll pay a "reasonable" amount. Well, Frank is the opposite of pro-active. So he still doesn't have a phone. And I am searching for a substitute birthday present.

Today he reminded me he wanted a kilt. This has been discussed before. He has Scottish heritage on both sides of his dad's family, and on mine my dad has been a Scottish dance instructor. He wanted a kilt from a family clan, and we found connections to Muir and Dundee. But those aren't mass produced tartans and it's many hundreds of dollars to get one woven. So the kilt issue was on the back burner until today. We found a "sport" kilt (not wool) for a reasonable price...he picked the Braveheart, with a sporran.

Anticipating the picture of him in a kilt, I'm going to have to learn how to post pictures on this blog.