If April showers bring May flowers, then May definitely brought our family plenty of excitement. Looking back, I’m honestly not sure how we fit everything into one month. Between birthdays, concerts, graduations, tournaments, vacations, weddings, and the unofficial kickoff to summer, it seemed like we were constantly unpacking one suitcase just to pack another. It was busy, exhausting, and absolutely filled with moments I’ll never forget.
The month started with one of my favorite holidays of the year…Miss Olivia’s birthday! On May 1, our baby girl turned 14 years old. Fourteen! I truly cannot believe how quickly time has flown. We had already celebrated with the family the Sunday before, so on her actual birthday she opened just a couple of gifts from us. She was excited to unwrap a squishy dumpling toy and the Kendra Scott necklace she had been wanting for quite some time. While Olivia was celebrating another birthday, Isaac reached a huge milestone of his own. He officially passed his permit test and earned his temporary driver’s license. That’s right…he can now legally practice driving with Jeremy or me sitting beside him. Needless to say, our family entered a whole new chapter that day. If you happened to see us driving around Allen County in early May, I apologize in advance! Thankfully, we’ve all survived so far.
The first weekend of May found me loading up with Olivia and her choir friends for their annual trip to Kings Island. I think this has to be some sort of family record because we actually made it to an amusement park before Isaac did this year. The day started at Loveland High School, where we watched the choir perform before everyone piled back onto buses and vehicles for the drive to Kings Island. I rode with the Collier family, and we spent the entire day watching a fantastic group of kids enjoy themselves. They were respectful, had fun together, and genuinely seemed to enjoy each other’s company. As much fun as Kings Island was, my favorite part of the entire trip may have happened on the ride home. We stopped at Buc-ee’s for my very first visit, and I have to admit it absolutely lived up to every bit of the hype. That place is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It may have been close to 1:00 a.m. before we finally pulled back into Lima, but I’d do that trip all over again tomorrow.
As soon as I unpacked from Kings Island, it was time to say goodbye to the family and head west to Des Moines, Iowa. Ed Bury and I spent three days at Drake University completing a CEPR accreditation visit, and it was an outstanding experience. We were fortunate to spend time with Kelly Bruhn, the dean of the journalism and mass communication program and a longtime PR friend. Drake reminded me so much of Ohio Northern University. It has that same close-knit atmosphere where students truly know their professors, but it also benefits tremendously from being located in the state capital and having Meredith Publishing practically in its backyard. Students there have incredible internship and networking opportunities while still receiving that small-school experience. It really was an impressive program, and I enjoyed every minute of the visit.
After getting home from Iowa, life immediately shifted into concert season. We spent several evenings attending choir and band concerts, including Olivia’s final performance as a flutist. She has decided not to continue band in high school, and honestly, I can’t say I blame her. She’s looking forward to having the freedom to spend Friday nights cheering on the football team instead of performing during halftime.
We also squeezed in a special photo session with three of my wonderful PR seniors, Maddie, Maddy, and Christine. Since Jeremy’s doctoral graduation would keep us in California during Ohio Northern’s commencement, we knew we’d miss celebrating with our graduates on campus. That meant taking the traditional fountain pictures a little early, but I’m so glad we made the time. Those photos are a tradition I treasure every year.
By the middle of May, I had fully entered tournament season with track, Isaac with baseball and Olivia with softball. Isaac was absolutely chomping at the bit to make our annual trip to Amherst to buy flowers and vegetable plants for the garden. We finally found a day that worked to head north and pick everything out. Of course, buying the plants and actually getting them into the ground turned out to be two very different things. It would take us nearly 25 days before everything was finally planted, but at least we had good intentions! Every year we tell ourselves we’ll get an earlier start, and every year life seems to have different plans.
The biggest adventure of the month came during Memorial Day weekend when our family, along with Maw and Paw, flew from Cincinnati to San Diego for Jeremy’s doctoral graduation from National University. Watching him earn his Ph.D. was an incredible moment for all of us. The graduation ceremony was held in a huge event center and lasted nearly three hours, but the moment they called Jeremy’s name, every late night, every paper, every class, and every sacrifice became completely worth it. Following graduation, we checked into an amazing Airbnb on Mission Beach where we spent the next four days. The location couldn’t have been better. We were only a short walk from both the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay, giving us the best of both worlds. We filled our days riding bikes, kayaking, relaxing on the beach, playing board games, cooking meals together, and simply enjoying being away from our normal routines. Jeremy and the kids even tried boogie boarding, which turned out to be one of their favorite activities. On our final evening, Jeremy, Maw, and Isaac headed off to watch the Padres play baseball while Paw, Olivia, and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner together in San Diego’s Gaslamp District. Before we knew it, we were back on a plane Tuesday evening headed home to Lima with just one week of school remaining.
The end of the school year brought several special moments for Olivia. She attended the Blue Ribbon Breakfast, celebrated her eighth-grade graduation, and was recognized as one of the Top 25 students in her eighth-grade class. Needless to say, Jeremy and I couldn’t have been prouder. After the graduation ceremony, she and her friends headed to Fricker’s to celebrate together. Watching that group laugh and enjoy one another’s company reminded me how quickly these middle school years have passed. Meanwhile, Isaac’s school year came to an end with one of the most random half days ever scheduled on a Thursday morning. Since Jeremy had a dentist appointment and I was out to lunch, Maw stepped in to capture photos of him getting off the bus for the final time this school year.
We wrapped up May by diving right back into swim season. After an entire month away from the pool following short course season, Olivia officially began long course competition at Bowling Green State University. This season looks a little different because she’s now swimming in the older age group. All swimmers ages 13 and over compete together, meaning boys and girls even swim in the same heats, with the fastest heat going first. It definitely took some getting used to, but it also gave Olivia tremendous competition and some fast times to chase throughout the summer.
Jeremy and I also managed one final trip before the month ended as we traveled to Cleveland to celebrate the wedding of Abby Brock, one of my PR alumni from the Class of 2020. It was so much fun reconnecting with so many former students. Ashley Dentinger, Hannah Bowen, and Emily Brock were all in the wedding party, while Joe Dunay and several of Abby’s roommates shared our table at the reception. Between the ceremony and reception, we even made a stop at Malley’s for chocolate. Somehow these graduates have already been out of school for six years, and yet it still feels like yesterday they were sitting in my classroom.
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