Oxford (1)
Sorry, it took me a while to get to this because I've been sick.
I can hardly keep up with Eli 24.4--he sent me pictures yesterday from a trail run where there were giraffes and zebras--but let's go back to Oxford first.
I've shown this before, but this is the theatre (the Sheldonian, designed by Christopher Wren, built 1664-1669) where the ceremony was held:
Waiting in line, seeing all the people in line to celebrate their kids (now adults), I started tearing up. Everyone seemed to have two parents and grandparents and siblings, and Eli had...me. I felt so bad that Gloria wasn't there, too. She deserved to be there.
This is the inside of The Sheldonian:
It's shockingly beautiful. Hard to comprehend, really.
Eli walked in, saw me, and waved with a big smile on his face.
This graduation ceremony was first performed over eight centuries ago, and the only change has been the addition of a presenter explaining why most of the ceremony is in Latin and why there's so much doffing of caps (it's done as a sign of respect).
I did everything I could to not start crying, even though I was tearing up quite a bit (later, Eli told me he'd been doing the same). The arc of his life is hard for me to fathom in moments like this. He's so young, but what a life he's already had.
Here we are after the ceremony.
I don't think either one of us could have been any happier.
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