Amidst all of the stress and negativity of finals week here at St. Olaf, I wanted to share some of the fantastic celebrations that have occurred lately. We have had a lot to celebrate! Milestones and important moments, relationships - both lifelong and new, pages turned and chapters completed, victories - both minor and seemingly triumphant, and memories - both ones just created and others lifelong.
Adam turned 21 last week! Part of me cannot believe he is old enough to do anything (short of renting a vehicle, of course) but the other part of me celebrates what an awesome young man he has become. We couldn't miss out on his celebration so we all met in St. Peter and had a lovely evening at Gustavus. At one point or another, all five of us have lived in Complex (Adam's dorm) so it was somewhat surreal to be back - with a baby - celebrating our baby brother's 21st.
I am always swarmed with memories driving up the hill and making the trek up the Complex stairs...it even smells the same. By the end of the night, we were all reminded how meaningful our experiences at Gustavus were - and the great thing is, we have the constant reminder of each other as our Gustie family continues to expand.
Adam, we are so proud of all you've done to get where you are today. You are such a handsome young man. We are excited to see where you take yourself...
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This spring also marks the end of my first year working at St. Olaf. It has become clear to me lately how much I've gained from this year - in particular, the relationships I've made with my students. They have been a great group to supervise. I look forward to the opportunity to shift into friends as this year comes to an end. We've done a lot of celebrating over the last couple of weeks. We had the all-staff Residence Life banquet last week, followed by separate staff outings to honor the commitments they've made to making this year special for each other and their residents.
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| My Ytterboe staff went to Culver's to get ice cream to get some relief from the HOT evening we had. They are a great group of people - most of whom will be graduating this week. Congratulations you guys. I know you all have so much life and success ahead of you! |
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| My Hill Kitt staff dressed up for our all-staff banquet. Both my staffs were obviously the best dressed on campus that night. :) We decided with all the stress and craziness that finals and closing brings, we wanted to get off campus for awhile. I couldn't think of a better place to retreat than my home in Medina so we loaded the vans and headed up to the cities for the day! We ate brunch together, played games, pet dogs, chased cats, laughed a lot, went to Coldstone and headed back to campus. It was a wonderful way to celebrate a fantastic year. |
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| We played basketball in the drizzling rain, which made for a very slippery, awesome time! They are all winners, even Ellie (the dog). :) |
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This week also brought Jeffrey's birthday! Sadly, Adam & I weren't able to celebrate with them but we were there in spirit. The cousin party went on without us and they had a wonderful time! Cousin Sheila just returned from her freshmen year at Lawrence in NY and cousin Max just returned from being abroad. I can't wait to see both of you to hear how everything was! :)
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This week also marked Tricia's graduation from St. Scholastica in Duluth where she was studying Exercise Physiology. We weren't able to make it to the ceremony but we were honored to celebrate with everyone on Monday night for dinner! I gave my mother-in-law my word that I wouldn't post the family picture of them I took (even though it's a great picture) so just imagine 5 really good looking Wobschalls here. :) Congrats Trish. |
| I took this picture on our way home from Waseca after Tricia's graduation dinner. This is my favorite tree and it reminds me that we are either really close to home or leaving after an awesome time. -It has been a wonderful year at St. Olaf. Thank you to both of my staffs of RAs and JCs. You guys are SO great and I am honored that you've shared your lives with me this year. I wish you all a very happy summer and to my seniors, a joyous graduation celebration! Good luck with all that lies ahead for all of you. |
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| I will always think of St. Olaf now when I see windmills. It is a symbol of campus and it makes for a beautiful view from our living room window. :) -  I'd also like to congratulate my grad-school friends, Kerin & Carla, who will be graduating this weekend from St. Thomas! I am so sad I won't be able to be there but I will be thinking of you both. God truly blessed me with your friendship and I know you will continue to help and change lives through counseling. And I KNOW how much work we put into that Master's program, congratulations. You guys rock. - Oh, and by the way - my 3-on-3 co-ed intramural basketball team went undefeated to win the title. It was my first intramural experience and I survived without breaking or tearing anything - a triumph in my book. :) Plus, we got a sweet t-shirt out of the deal. - Life is sweet. When you find yourself surrounded by negative people or energy, try to remind yourself that there are plenty of things we can be celebrating. We are alive - cheers to that. |
