It’s that time of year when things get crazier in the Hectic Household than our normal crazy. The kids are facing finals. There’s another graduation. Spring sports are wrapping up, kids are heading home from college or relocating for the summer, and all our Summer plans are taking shape.

We’re no different than your family, we put our events on the calendar one item at a time. The difference lies in the number of events that go on our calendar. It’s ridiculous!

Just this week, Hectic 18 started her International Baccalaureate finals. These tests cover up to two years of study, so they aren’t single sitting affairs. History of the America’s actually spans today, tomorrow, and Monday. While the rest of the Senior class celebrated the culmination of finals, she was taking the first multi-hour exam. In fact, she will speak at graduation, walk across the stage, and receive her diploma on Sunday. Then instead of going to one graduation party after another, she’ll settle in for the final study session of High School. While her peers sleep in on Monday morning, she and a handful of others will take the last final of High School careers. Only then will her celebration begin.

Through an odd set of circumstances, she and two friends opted to have their graduation party tomorrow, sandwiched among finals and graduation. I have bacon-wapped water chestnuts to make, a chocolate fountain to assemble, all sorts of snack foods to procure, while simultaneously coordinating with two other families. As this is our sixth high school graduation, all the odd questions are sent to me…I’m supposed to be an expert.

In some ways, that’s laughable. I don’t really know what I’m doing. Sure, I know how to put on a party, but each of my kids has wanted something dramatically different for graduation. It’s been a whole new ballgame each time around. But like so many things in the Hectic Household, we’ve adapted and made it work. Most of all, we’ve had fun!

Admidst all that, Hectic 16 is preparing to compete in the League and Regional track meets. His season has been challenging, so he’s working extra hard to earn one of the coveted spots at the State meet. If he earns it, he’ll have practices through the 28th of May. Being down a car, means we’ll have continued driving negotiations for a couple weeks. Instead of the fairly standardized schedule during the school year, summer workouts, sports, and work all add complications to our planning.

Not be left behind, Hectic 12 will continue gymnastics preparation for the YMCA National meet in June. We’re fortunate that Nationals will be in Wichita, eliminating long-distance travel plans. It’s her first time at Nationals, so it’s nice we’ll be able to use our house as the base of operations.

Prior to that, she’ll attend her final week at Adventure Camp. She’s been going since  2nd grade, making this her 5th year. It’s a day camp that she’s absolutely loved. She’ll have the added excitement of a having Hectic 18 as one of the camp counselors. Volleyball, weight training, and potentially competitive swimming will round out the early part of Hectic 12’s summer.

Hectic 16 is still searching for employment that can conform to his cross country and wrestling training schedule. He’ll have lots of workouts scattered throughout the Summer, and if he’s not employed elsewhere, I’ll put him to work on some projects that I have planned. That may pose a challenge, as we tend to butt heads more than get things done. It’s something I’m willing to work on, but I can only meet him 90% of the way.

He will also be traveling to Boston for the Congress of Future Scientists. It’ll be his first time traveling solo, making him a bit apprehensive. It’s going to be a great experience for him, but the outbound travel has him a bit worried. We’re going to have to keep working on that up until he meets the Congress folks at Logan International Airport.

Hectic 18 will be working two jobs in anticipation of her first year at college. She’ll be a camp counselor and a swim lessons instructor. She’s not one to sit around. We’re already in the process of getting her college gear ready. She’s done a fantastic job coordinating with her two roommates. They are juggling who will bring what furniture, electronics, etc. While she’s not going across the country, she’ll be far enough away that we’d like to limit delivery trips.

Hectic 21 is finally home from Maine Maritime Academy. She drove her car back the entire 3,000 miles. We’re not sure it’s up to a return trip, so the early part of her Summer will be spent looking for a potential replacement. It’s quite different to search for a car that can go 3,000 miles in a few days than it is to look for something that you can just knock around town. She’ll be working as a waitress and swim instructor, so her days and evenings will be filled. She’ll be returning to Maine for her final year, so post-grad job searching is also on the agenda.

The most immediate task in her future is getting the pile of stuff she packed into her car out of our dining room. It’s amazing how much you can pack into a Chevy Malibu. The entire dining room is full, as if the car just split its seams and the contents landed inside the house!

Hectic 25 will begin her graduate coursework through Gonzaga University’s online program. She’ll be pursuing a Communications & Leadership degree with a concentration in Teaching. She’s going to take one class this Summer to ease into the program. She’ll continue to work in the Financial Aid office at the local community college while pursuing her degree. As part of that job she’ll head to Denver for a weeklong conference. She’ll get the opportunity to visit Hectic 23B at her new home in the Boulder area.

Both Hectic 23A and 23B will continue with their jobs in Rochester, MN and Boulder, CO respectively. Both are assuming dramatically increased responsibility, so it’s both exciting and stressful. As I mentioned, 23B will be moving to a new home at the start of June, adding all the activities related to a move. It’s a great opportunity for her to improve her living arrangement.

She’s going to move out of her apartment, travel here to Kansas for a few days, and then return directly to her new digs. Much of what she owns will be packed into her car. She has perfected living out of her car. I can’t imagine where she got that from!

Both twins will be coming home for Hectic Grandson’s baptism. As I’ve written before, it’s been challenging finding a date when the entire Hectic Clan can make it home. We’re looking forward to our usual whirlwind of activity with arrivals, departures, and generally carousing over the long Memorial Day weekend. Quite honestly, there are still some travel plans in flux, but we know for certain that everyone will be here for at least three whole days. I’m so excited that we’ll have a full house again!

Hectic 23A will be one of the first to return to her home and job. She’s working for a very small startup and her responsibilities include gene-splitting and gene-splicing. Her experiments are almost as bad as kids…they need constant attention and won’t let her be away for too long. It’s really interesting stuff, but scheduling time away has been very difficult for her. With the heat that Memorial Day often brings, I’m sure she won’t complain about returning to cooler Minnesota temperatures.

Hectic 19 will be home for that weekend as well. He’s continuing his training as a decathlete this Summer while working pouring concrete. In addition, he’s completing the work on three vehicles, so he’s been crazy-busy since his Freshman year of college ended 10 days ago. We had hoped that he’d move back home for the summer, but he found a job close to school so he could continue to train for track & field. I can’t blame him for wanting to stay, but I’m going to miss him terribly. He’ll also squeeze in three weeks of Army training at the end of the summer, somewhere in California.

Ironically, of all the kids, he’s the most likely to appear here completely unannounced. While his visits have been pretty short, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see quite a bit of him this Summer despite the 8-hour roundtrip drive. His siblings love to have him around, and he’s a great role model for Hectic Grandson!

That’s all we’re up to this Summer. Of course, all sorts of other activities will pop up, and I’m sure I’ll be writing about some of them. I didn’t even touch on the numerous 5K’s, sprint triathlons, and half-marathons that we’ve got planned. Nor the road cycling adventures.

As always, it’s going to be hectic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!