An Ever Better Weekend

Before I get to the drama that's been shaping our last week and a half, I had a busy weekend to get through myself.  It was Meliora Weekend, meaning that I had some long and tiring (but fun) days of work.  This was an exciting one since we were launching our big fundraising campaign that's going to shape the next five years of my job, and set up the university's future.  

In a job that has been nearly non-stop busy for years and tends to be a little uninspiring at times, Meliora Weekend--despite the inevitable exhaustion--is one time where it all comes together and feels like all of our efforts are worth it.  We see happy people attending--alumni, parents, and students--and see the campus come alive.  There's a ferris wheel and food trucks and streamers, special events, inspiring speakers, and reunions that make everyone feel like a kid again.  It's lovely to talk to people and hear their stories.  Those conversations can be so enjoyable that it makes me get over my perpetual fear of a golf cart shift, just because it's the best spot to better people's weekends.  This year was especially lovely because the weather was as nice as it's ever been--no rain, pleasant temperatures, plenty of sun.  It made the campus look beautiful, and I wanted to share some of that here because it absolutely made my weekend.

Because the big launch for all of our top donors was on Thursday, I figured I'd volunteer for a golf cart shift that night to be around all of the excitement.  I rarely work Thursdays since they're less busy, but this felt worth it.  I got there extra early since parking can be crazy and I wanted to make sure I could pick up my golf cart and  walkie talkie and make it to the pre-meeting as well.  I ended up having a lot of extra time, though, so I sat on the porch of the student union and took it all in.   

Once my shift started, it was literally the most beautiful evening on campus.

I happened to be stuck waiting in a parking lot facing west as the sun set, and it was so pretty and peaceful.

The campus is always picture perfect.  My favorite view is always from the far end of the quad, especially when the Meliora letters are out.  

I didn't realize until dark that the library now has colored LEDs!  I've only ever seen it in white.  

The big event on campus looked amazing from the outside.

That was a fun night driving around very special donors and getting little peeks at the event.  It was so warm that I didn't even need a jacket.  And the apple pie parfait I snagged from the dessert table was fantastic!  I did have a challenge once it got dark because my golf cart didn't have headlights, and when I went to trade it out I realized the only ones left that did were either giant six-seaters or they only had one passenger seat.  Not ideal in either situation, but I sucked it up and learned how to drive the six-seater.  Not easy, but lots of five-point turns later, I felt a bit better about it.  And thank goodness, because I ended up with one again on Saturday.

I spent all day Friday at Eastman selling sweatshirts.  Around 10am I got a message from my high school friend Josh, the one that I caught up with a year ago, who I knew was coming in for his reunion.  He was just down the block at the coffee shop, so I ran down there for a bit.  I got to meet his wife finally, as well as another friend of theirs.  It was a fun getting to know her and catching up a bit before they had to get going and I had to get back to work.  It was a long day stationed at the same table, but also a successful one as we sold close to 70 sweatshirts, which beat last year!  I was tempted to go back to the main campus for the big event that night, but I was beat and all talked out.  As much as I love to be in the middle of the fun and energy of the weekend, I knew I needed a break.

Luckily my early Saturday shift back at Eastman wasn't needed, but my first actual one ended up being more of a rush than I expected because parking was crazy and I got shut out of the lot I usually park in.  I fully expected to be way out at the far end (probably a half mile walk as it was), but there wasn't a spot to be found.  That meant I had to go to the other end of campus and park in another far lot there.  By the time I got to where I needed to be and checked out my lunch options, I had about 15 minutes to get some food and eat it before my shift.  I worked a couple hours at a table, once again selling sweatshirts and once again seeing Josh, this time only for a couple minutes.  Then it was back out for another golf cart shift.  Campus was once again looking beautiful!

That shift was a little less successful with the giant golf cart--I got hung up on a rock once and posts (the kind that keep bigger vehicles off sidewalks) twice.  But I met some lovely people and made a few people's days much more pleasant--like the guy who could barely walk and was parked in the farthest parking spot in that one lot.  My ride there was a huge help for him.  There was also a woman who was bringing the photo booth for a reunion dinner (my friend's, actually, I believe) and the van she was in didn't have a cart to lug all of the equipment there.  So I spent the last 20 minutes of my shift helping her load everything on my golf cart and driving her a couple minutes over to the building where she needed to unload.

I hated to leave when I did--I really wanted to ride the ferris wheel and take in the beautiful day a bit longer--but I had to pick up dinner that I had optimistically ordered for 6pm.  Unfortunately, I had an extra long walk to my car and a 20+ minute drive.  I ended up snapping a few shots of the gorgeous flowers on campus as I walked.  I'm pretty sure this zinnia had the most petals I've ever seen on a zinnia.

This one had fewer petals but was the most perfect shape.

This planter of what I believe are New Guinea impatiens was huge, and I loved the faded pinks.

Another gorgeous zinnia...

I have loved lantana since my mom won a lantana tree many years ago at a golf tournament.  There were giant mounds of it around the campus, but this little batch was so pretty!

After that it was back to my car and off to Avon to get our gluten-free pizza and donuts, and then back home for a night with the family.  I was super tired by the time I got home, but it was a true feel-good weekend seeing all the fruits of the work we do every day. 

Of course, after three active, long days, I was especially exhausted on Sunday.  I still managed to be relatively productive around the house, but didn't quite get to my fall decor that I was hoping to put out.  And Monday was Carter's infusion, and then a cold creeped in during the day, so I'm feeling pretty cruddy today.  And Jacob seemed to catch the cold (probably from Carter) as well, so he's home today.  Not to mention we still have the drama happening (next post, I promise) and it was supposed to be resolved yesterday, so needless to say it's been a distracted, mostly unproductive first part of the week.  Good thing I soaked in all the sun and fun over the weekend...