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Saturday, February 24, 2007

DONE!


By the time we got back from the big celebration Friday, the apartment's internet access had been turned off. Not that they were rushing us or anything. But even after 24 hours without internet access, no one got the shakes. We were too rushed trying to pack up 6 weeks worth of "stuff" into 2 weeks worth of luggage. I think Mom and I were mostly appreciated for our baggage allowance.

Chase finished Friday afternoon and there was a big celebration. Here's a short video of "the gonging". What you can't see is the crowd of people, cameras, and cell phones in front of him - they really do it up right there! Unfortunately, Judith's camera doesn't have sound, so you'll just have to imagine a startlingly loud gong sound at the appropriate moment.



Applause! Applause! Applause!


Here, have a cookie!


If his face looks a little red, it's not because he's blushing, but because he just spent an hour locked down like this:


Aligning the acrylic forms for treatment.

But that's OVER - whew!

The celebration was fun, but...we still had to pack. Our flight wasn't at 7:30 Saturday, it was at 7:15! I did get the AM part right, though, dangit, and it's hard getting up at 4:45 when you were still packing at 0'dark thirty the night before. But we made it on time, thanks to no traffic and a very nice curbside check in guy. I think we had a total of 15 bags, including a last minute "throw it in that shopping bag over there" one.

We landed at RDU and headed for home - Buddy picked up Chase and Judith and drove to Greensboro, but I don't think Chase will light there long. NC State tonight, Chapel Hill tomorrow(?) and moving in to a Chapel Hill apartment on Monday. He's looking forward to becoming a college student again, ya think?

Many, many thanks to the friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, medical staff, and virtual strangers who made this passage bearable. Y'all are amazing!

I'm signing off and turning the keys to the blog over to Chase now. As rough as it was on him, at least he can never say he had a boring Freshman year!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope and pray you never hear the word cancer again. God bless you and Judith. Chase- you are a trooper and Judith- you are a super Mom and a wonderful person. I should know 'cause I've known you forever!
Mary Beth- you have done a SUPERB job, I have read every word and enjoyed it, cried and laughed.
Love to all,
Aleta

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Chase & Judith. Thank goodness it is over. We wish you the best. Thanks Mary Beth for keeping us posted. You did a great job, and thanks to Grandma who kept us posted in California, We had you all in our prayers. Love to all.

Hector & Catalina