The Future is Here!

Throughout my childhood, the year 2000 was set before me and my classmates as this futuristic year when our class would be the first to graduate high school in the new millenium. In my scrapbook there is a copy of a 1987 Amana Bulletin with a picture of me and my Amana classmates on the front lawn of the elementary school with the caption, "The class of 2000 started Kindergarten today." There I am in the midst, with people like Greta and Hollan, and we can't even understand 2000- it was just too far in the future to even comprehend as real. And now it's seven years past my graduation, to the day. And I saw Hollan and Greta yesterday at Nancy's party. We're still friends, but now with "adult" lives. It's weird.

And at the time of that 1987 Bulletin picture, Nancy was not even born yet. If 2000 seemed incomprehensibly futuristic, 2007- the projected end of all of our collective schooling- was even more sci-fi. Yet, yesterday afternoon, at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City, Nancy Lyn walked across that stage to receive her high school diploma as a member of the Class of 2007. I couldn't help getting a little emotional- if you ignore her braces and her overall littleness, she really is starting to look like an adult. Seeing her in her cap and gown was a sharp reminder of the fact that time moves faster than we realize.

So Nancy is now a high school graduate, ready to head up to Luther College this fall. We had many family members in town from Ohio to celebrate, and it was a blast having them here. Some of them were able to go to Nancy's soccer game on Friday, we listened to live music in the Ped Mall in Iowa City, ate filling Amana food, and just enjoyed the time together. It's all a bit surreal to Nancy, who can't quite grasp the fact that she is done with this long chapter of her life.

We still have A LOT of cake leftover, though, so whether we like it or not, the sweetness of the weekend will last at least a little longer!

Natalie, our cousin Abby, Nancy, cousin Hillary, and me after the ceremony.

Uncle Gary, Abby, Uncle Dale, Nancy, Dad, Hillary, Me, Aunt Linda, Mom, Uncle Joe and Natalie- quite the entourage!

The proud parents.

Me, Greta and Hollan

I love my sisters!