My baby sister graduated from the Loyola University Law School - Cum Laude to boot - this past weekend. Ian and I made the hour drive from Aurora to the Loyola campus on the northside of Chicago. We got a late start, but still made it before the ceremony actually started - we just had to wait for all the graduates to file in. Loyola has a tradition by which graduates can have their diploma presented to them by Loyola Law School alumni - which my father is (class of 1972). Because Elizabeth chose to have Dad give her the diploma, we all got choice seats up close. Very nice. We got to see everything. My Dad looking proud. My sister looking nervous and excited. It was a nice time.
Obviously, Ian wasn't going to sit still for an entire graduation ceremony, especially when the commencement speaker started drifting off into some sort of out-of-body experience while rambling about lawyers he may or may not have personally known. (It was very weird - don't ask) Luckily it was a beautiful day outside and the graduation exercises where being held in a building right next to a running track. I was able to take Ian out to stretch his legs and run off some steam. He ran two laps around the quarter-mile track. A half-mile! And he seemed to enjoy it. Heather thinks we need to get the boy into a track program. He just loves to run. Always have. I remember taking him on walks when he was 2 and he would just run and run and run and run. He's unstoppable.
Eventually we made it back in the building to catch the tail end of the ceremony and to have Ian be assaulted by Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine's grandson. Our seats were right behind the Devine family, who were there for Mr. Devine (a Loyola Law School grad) to present a diploma to his son who was graduating with my sister. Mr. Devine's grandson probably isn't even a year old, but he was active enough to turn around and grab Ian's glasses off his head. While his grandmother apologized, I explained that there wasn't anything to worry about. Ian's sister does it all the time at home.
Then the ceremony was over. I congratulated my sister, took some pictures, and then got down to the business at hand: finding someone to unlock my car so I could get the keys out. In the rush at arriving at Loyola, Ian and I jumped out of the car without the keys. Luckily there was a mechanic's place about a block north of the campus. He was able to come down and get the car open in 60 seconds. Even though I paid the guys for his efforts, I felt bad about asking him for the work. He literally closed up his shop to come help me. Turned off the lights - locked the doors - the whole deal. Just to come help some guy from the suburbs unlock the door to his '96 Neon.
Afterwards we celebrated (Elizabeth's graduation - not my newly unlocked car) at Buca di Beppo in the Pope Room. Buca is one of my Dad's favorite restaurants. They serve Italian food - Southern Italian to be specific - family style. It's a chain, but the food is good and the atmosphere is great. It's a lot of fun to eat at Buca di Beppo, especially if you can get one of their theme rooms all to yourself - which we did in this case.
Although they had to sit out of the actually ceremony, Heather and the girls were able to join us - much to the pleasure of all the grandmothers present. My Dad made a speech, my brother entertained everyone from the bus boys up to my Grandfather, Ian got a cup of Coke that was bigger than his right arm, and I ate as much meat as I could. It was a good time for all I think.
Congratulations Elizabeth. You've done a fantastic job in school. I'm particularly proud of everything that you have accomplished. I look forward to see you carve out what I know will be a successful career in the future.
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