A Piece of My Heart is in Utah

Why is it hard to blog about things that are painful?  Maybe that is why it has taken me so long to write about this.

We did not have much time between high school graduation.  Less than two weeks flies by rather quickly.  But in many ways, that is much nicer than an entire summer . . . filled with impatience and growing pains.

Allie and I loaded up the van with all the things she could not live without for the summer.

We headed out on a fine Wednesday morning.  If I remember correctly, it was slightly rainy and not too hot which was really nice!

We spent the night in Salt Lake City and headed south the next day.  We ran around and got things done.  Allie finished the day equipped with a student ID, expensive college text books, a bus pass and a rental computer. 

I managed to get my first parking ticket (wish I had noticed that sign telling me that I was in the faculty parking).  When I went to pay the fine, I was immediately directed to the desk where you talk your way out of it.  Apparently, you get one (and only one) freebie!

We spent the night across the street from BYU.  But that didn’t mean it was a peaceful night.  The card key did not want to work very efficiently on our door.  It was a challenge to get it open.  However, it opened easily (other than the door chain) for the people they gave the room to since the clerk did not mark the room as occupied.  That was so creepy and made us miss Paul terribly. 

The next day was the day I have dreaded for years.  While Allie was getting ready, I walked to the corner and snapped a photo.

We headed out to New Student Orientation. 

Allie was quite excited and ready to GO!  While Allie checked in and had things to do.  I, on the other hand, sat around and waited.

I saw a lot of this. . . .parents helping out their college aged children figure out what to do and where to go.

We both went to an opening meeting, though we didn’t get to sit together.  Here is a description:

Convocation
This is the official opening of New Student Orientation. During this meeting students will be given an overview of the day’s activities and hear from both a student leader and a university administrator. Convocation is intended to be the springboard for students’ time at BYU and to provide a view of what can be expected as a BYU disciple-scholar.

What can I say. . . it was boring and I took a nap during part of it. 

We headed different directions for lunch.  I met some pretty interesting ladies, including one dropping off her daughter from the United Arab Emirates.  (They are American.)  We listened to a really interesting and inspirational speaker.

Allie and I met up again.  We headed to her apartment and were able to get her in a bit early which was nice. 

One of her roomies was already there and seemed to be neat and tidy, but made the place so homey already.  We, however, mostly tossed Allie’s things in.  We wanted to get some dinner before the evening event. 

The last thing we needed to do was to lock up Allie’s bike and we were running behind.  Of course, the brand new bike lock would NOT lock.  So we had to buy a new one and were late to:

Tradition of Honor
This light-hearted and upbeat production will help familiarize students with BYU’s Honor Code through a series of skits, songs, dances, and videos. This activity will help students fully understand the expectations of abiding by the Honor Code during their time at BYU.

We got there late, but managed to find a spot to sit in.  It was pretty entertaining!  But I dreaded the end of the production.  Why?

Because it would be time for me to go. 

When it was over, Allie said, “I gotta go catch up with my Y-group”

I was NOT okay with that.  She was going to leave me. . . just like that.

I insisted that I at least get one more picture of my college girl:

And then she skipped off to have some fun.

  That is what an empty nest looks like. *sniff*