The month of May has always been a busy one in the Witemeyer house, but this year, the sheer number of major life events happening in this short span is staggering.
- May 7 – Middle son Wyatt graduated from ACU
- May 8 – Mother’s Day
- May 12 – Daughter Bethany’s birthday
- May 14 – Wyatt and his lovely bride McKenna tie the knot (first family wedding)
- May 22 – My father-in-law (who lives next door) celebrates his 80th birthday
- May 27 – My birthday
- May 31 – Wyatt’s birthday
- June 1 – My book deadline
- June 5 – My husband and I celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary
Talk about a month of celebration! Unfortunately, it’s also a month of stress with a hundred details to plan and execute with almost no down time. And I’m smack dab in the middle of the craziness.
We got Wyatt and McKenna graduated this past Saturday. First major event of the month completed.
Wyatt graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA while double-majoring in Math and Computer Science. He was selected by the faculty of his department to be a University Scholar as well. I couldn’t be more proud of him! He has always worked hard and given his best effort in every endeavor he undertakes. He already has a job lined up following graduation, which is a good thing, because in a couple days he’ll be standing before the altar with the love of his life to recite wedding vows.
I spent most of Mother’s Day holed up with my computer, writing, but I did get to have a lovely potluck meal at church and a family card game to end the day. And the best gift of all – I had all my children at home. Hooray!
We celebrated Bethany’s birthday yesterday with dinner at her favorite burger place followed by the the new Dr. Strange movie. She’s a Marvel nut, and was excited to have a movie hit the big screen during her birthday week.
With Wyatt and McKenna’s wedding this Saturday, most of my mental and physical energy is aimed in that direction this week. As the mother of the groom, I’ve had it easy, but all the work has intensified this week. I’m cooking the rehearsal dinner with some help from my brother and sister-in-law. So I’m constantly running through mental lists and trying to make sure I have all my bases covered. Despite the stress that is trying to creep in, I’m doing my best to keep joy at the forefront of my mind. This is a beautiful, happy occasion, and I don’t want to let my frazzled state ruin that for anyone, including me!
Once we have the wedding completed, the rest of the month should be busy but manageable as long as I can meet my book deadline. 🙂 My husband would love to take a big trip to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, but not only will we both be worn out from the month of May, but my next book releases June 7, and I’ll be in full-on marketing mode. He’s in charge, though, so whatever he plans, as long as I have access to the Internet, I’ll make it work. Celebrating our marriage is more important than getting lost in the minutiae of the day-to-day.
What about you? Any major life events happening this summer?
There is a possibility of one, but it’s to remain a secret for now.
Ooo – I love a good mystery, Janice. 🙂
Wehave had several this year including a wedding. We do have a pre-K graduation coming
Very fun, Debra!
May is a big birthday month in my extended family. My mom’s birthday and my parents’ anniversary are Friday. Several aunts and uncles also have birthdays this month.
My youngest has his driver’s license test on Friday, also. His birthday is on the 28th.
No graduations or weddings this year.
Congratulations to all you have going on, especially your 30th anniversary!
Sounds like your family is a lot like mine with the May birthdays and events, Denise. Thanks for the congrats on our 30th. 🙂
Oh, my goodness, Karen! How do you sleep at night? LOL.
Ah, but I do remember those busy years – Mays and Decembers especially. Now that we are empty-nesters, we have no big occasions to organize anymore. While they are wonderful memories I keep in my heart – graduations, baby and bridal showers, weddings and all that – well, it’s nice to show up as a guest instead of being the hostess. 🙂
Hang in there – and you’re right to focus on the joy instead of the work involved. Too soon, these busy years will be over.
I’m not sleeping as much as I would like, Pam, but I’m keeping my eyes on the finish line. If I can get through Saturday, the rest will be easy in comparison. 🙂
Only one high school graduation this summer.
I hope that you take time to make such wonderful memories at all of your events.
Enjoy!!
Congrats to your high school grad! I’ll try to remember to snap some photos in the midst of all the craziness.
My birthday was May 4. I have several friends who also celebrate their birthday this month.
Congrats on your son’s marriage.
Happy Birthday to you, Caryl!
Good luck, my friend! I hope you make it through everything! I’ll be thinking of you!
Thanks, Valri. I’m praying for stamina and functioning brain power. Feeling both starting to slip a little in the midst of the craziness. Ha!
The best of luck to your family for the upcoming wedding and congrats to your son… I have a big family party on the 21st. My cousin’s daughter is moving to Nova Scotia, so we are having a going away party for her. Then in July, I am going to see Keith Urban. this will be the highlight of my summer.
Sounds like some fabulous memory making moments, Kathleen!
We have 3 birthdays this next week and a graduation on the 30th. Every month I have birthdays of children, grands, and great-grands. My busiest months are March (6) and October (5 of which 4 are in 1 week).
Sounds like your calendar is full of happy events, Karijean. 🙂 Enjoy the birthdays and graduation in May.
The biggest life event for me this year is my birthday next month, which is a big one, the big 60. My copy of In Honor’s Defense is in the mail as I type! I received notification that it was coming early!!
Happy birthday to you, Trudy. And I hope you enjoy Luke and Damaris’s story. 🙂
My husband, great niece, and cousin have birthdays in June and my sister-in-law has one in July.
Sounds like a bunch of great excuses to party, Connie. 🙂
You share a birthday with my miracle baby, born thirteen years after the first of several miscarriages. Her big brother is nearly 16 years older than she is.
What a beautiful story. I’m honored to share the day with her.
Congratulations. This will be one busy but happy month. I remember when our oldest got married. It was busy buy a lot of fun. Got to know my soon to be daughter in law a bit more. This month not a lot going on for us. I am ok with that as my husband and i are getting over Covid My husband has a reenactment the last weekend of May, he is so looking forward to that. I will stay home and sew
Lori – I’m glad to hear that you and your hubby are recovering. How fun that he does reenactments. I always thought those would be cool to participate in. And your sewing sounds like a great crafty escape. I’ll try not to envy your quiet, peaceful time alone. Ha!
Lovely events and your son and daughter-in-law (well by this weekend) look pretty happy in the graduation pictures.
Thanks, Rachel. Wyatt and McKenna are enjoying the freedom of having school behind them and a future together in front of them. 🙂
As a military family, we learned a long time ago to celebrate when we can. Events are special and should be celebrated to the fullest. Things like anniversaries and birthdays are dates, as are holidays. They can be celebrated when and where you have the opportunity. There were many years when Christmas was delayed for up to 2 weeks. We often have to pick a time to celebrate birthdays, etc when we can. Our 50th anniversary this June will not be celebrated as we had planned, but we will find a way to make it special. (We were to get married in May, but the military necessitated a last minute change then, too.)
Once the events that must be held on a particular day are finished, you have a bit of flexibility to make June your own. Internet is available in most places and I am sure your husband can find a nice resort, cabin, B&B, tropical paradise, etc. to have some quality time together and still do what needs to be done for the book. After the past two months you two have had, you deserve some relaxing down time.
We just got back from a trip to Arizona and Texas to visit a relative and attend an Air Force reunion. In June we will be taking our daughter and granddaughter to NYC. It is the granddaughter’s 11th birthday and since she and her mom are big Harry Potter fans, we will take the train and on her birthday attend The Cursed Child play connected to the Harry Potter series. We will spend a week and do some site seeing. My husband and I may take one night to go out for a special dinner to celebrate our anniversary. If we can get tickets we may go to another show. The rest of the summer will be spent working our gardens and volunteering for several organizations.
Excellent advice, Patricia! And your upcoming trip to NYC sounds so fun! Enjoy that special time with your daughter and granddaughter.
We are celebrating our 50th anniversary on June 10th.
Congratulations, Kathy! That’s a HUGE milestone. What a wonderful example the two of you are!
At this time, we do not have anything scheduled. Congratulations on all your celebrations. God bless you.
Thanks, Debbie!
Excited for all that’s going on in your life. I hope it all brings you joy. I look forward to your next book.
Thanks, Kristen. It’s crazy, but the best kind of crazy. 🙂