Tonight we attended the Merrol Hyde Magnet School graduation of Penny Arwood, the daughter of my BFF Candy. And because I’m the mushy, sentimental type, all I could think of on the drive to Hendersonville was the day Penny was born and the first time I held her. As I reminisced, I wondered how in the world 18 years had gone by so fast. Cue the tears.
For the ceremony, the honor of our presence was requested at 7pm. We arrived at the school gymnasium early enough that I had enough time to make a quick jaunt to the ladies room. I handed Terry my pashmina, purse and camera (he’s so married) and made my way to the restroom. I am laser light focused as I rush along to not emasculate Terry and to get his man card back to him as quickly as possible. I scurry along and to my great surprise I hear, “Michelle?”. Who could possibly know me in a girls gymnasium bathroom an hour from home? I glimpse to my left and see Candy standing at a sink, washing her hands, up to her wrists in soapy suds. In unison, we squealed in an ear splitting girly manner as Candy hopped from faucet to faucet trying to get just one to turn on so that she could rinse her lathered hands. Happily rinsed and dried we finally gave each other big hugs. Of all the bathrooms, in all the towns, in all the world, I walked into hers. When we both came out of the ladies room, Terry jokingly said he was so embarrassed because our squeals could be heard by everyone in the immediate vicinity. He said that he had to assure the Sheriff’s officers that were stationed in the lobby that they didn’t have to rush into the scene of a crime, it was just a super girly “hello”.
On the move once again, Candy led us to where she and Jeff were sitting on the gymnasium floor and pointed up into the bleachers where Mr. and Mrs. Arwood, Jeff’s parents, his sister Kelly with two of her three adorable daughters and Jeff’s sister, Nikki who flew in from Virginia with the Arwoods, were all sitting. We climbed the bleachers, hello’s were said all around and we readied ourselves for the ceremony. The graduating class, although relatively small with only 50 graduates, had proved themselves academically with an average ACT score of 28 and over three million dollars in scholarship funds. In fact, every graduating senior was accepted to a college or university.
After the Class of 2014 was officially introduced to attending family and friends, sweet Penny directed a select group of choral members as they performed “Go and Find Your Dream”. Once the usual valedictorian and salutatorian speeches concluded, Candy’s sister, Courtney announced the name of each graduating senior and where they intended to further matriculate. An hour and a half later the ceremony was over and we met up with Candy and Jeff on the gym floor. Candy poked fun at Courtney who was dressed all in black, by asking how we liked the reading of the names by the Grim Reaper and if we happened to see bats flying out of the podium. Laughing hysterically we made our way to our car and onto Candy’s house for Penny’s reception.
Since we happened to arrive before Candy and Jeff we parked along the street, listened to the radio and waited. Upon their arrival, Candy hustled and bustled around the house lighting candles and setting food out on the dining room table which was draped with an antique lace tablecloth and laden with her lovely collection of silver trays, serving pieces and sparkling crystal. The pièce de résistance was a silver urn overflowing with chrysanthemums, spider mums and daisies in pinks, whites and summery yellows which graced the center of the table. I kept expecting Mr. Carson from Downton Abbey to emerge to announce us with his resonant English accent. Candy’s elegant table was filled with an abundance of delicious food including a grape salad, a creamy artichoke dip, a crudité tray, the mandatory cheese ball, a baked buffalo chicken casserole, mini ham and cheese sandwiches baked and served on dinner rolls, assorted chips and crackers, and mixed nuts, M&M’s, after dinner mints and a huge sheet cake.
I have always loved meandering around Candy’s house looking at all her family photos and collectibles and tonight was no exception. I showed Terry framed photos of Penny and Molly Anne throughout the years and pointed out all the pictures that featured the exquisite handmade dresses that Candy smocked for the girls when they were wee little ones. Terry eventually escaped my docent tour and joined Jeff on the deck to do manly things with fire like lighting the tiki torches, votives and the fire pit.
Back inside, Terry took charge of an overstuffed recliner while I perched myself at the corner of the couch. Penny sashayed by and I summoned her for a photo op. Soon she was off to visit with friends while Joe Blankenship took up court and regaled us with stories from his time on the state highway patrol. One story that was particularly amusing occurred in the early 60’s while a new recruit stationed in Memphis. As a rite of passage, all newbies were assigned to the Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct the driving examination. Joe, with a voice that was simply made to tell stories, recalled an encounter that firmly stuck in his mind. He began by noting that he knew as soon as he got into the car with his assigned female applicant that she was going to be trouble. I think the phrase, “afraid for his life” might have been uttered as he described her inexperience and how she somehow managed to put the car into a ditch along a busy stretch of highway. To add insult to injury, since this was before seat belts were mandatory, she slid sideways from the drivers seat to the passenger seat, landed squarely on top of Joe and then proceeded to urinate on him. How do you top that story?
As friends and neighbors began to thin out, I made my way to the dining room to sample all the delicious food and joined Candy, Courtney, Mrs. Arwood, Nikki, Jewell Blankenship and two of Candy’s co-workers, around the kitchen table. Candy continued to tease Courtney about her Grim Reaper performance while making bat motions with her hands and humming Bach’s Toccata and Fuge in D Minor or to laymen, the theme music to “Dracula”. Courtney, in her droll manner said that Candy was welcome to take her place at the podium next year and announce the students using her kindergarten sock puppets. Touché.
Finally, around 12:30am Terry stuck his head into the kitchen and said we should mosey on down the highway. It all went by too fast. There were hugs all around. I said “Goodbye daughter,” to Molly Anne and she said, “Goodbye mother,” a long standing inside joke. We snapped a few photos on the way out and were on our way. As a card carrying meat eater there was little for Terry to partake of food wise except for coffee. So sad. Needless to say, he was starving by the time we got into the car. As we headed out of town we detoured through a 24 hour McDonalds and grabbed a couple of quarter pounders, large fries and an ice cold Coca-Cola. Not exactly the best thing to eat so late in the evening but it hit the spot. We finally dragged our weary bones into the house around 1:30am, gave Jasper some well deserved affection and fell into bed.
Some photos from the evening.
