Our baby girl has graduated from college and still we made the decision to invest in season football tickets, Clemson fans that we are. We love the game, Tim and I do, the kind of fans who sit through The Entire Thing even when the spread of the score and the oppressive heat and the distance we have to travel to get back home make it ridiculous to even consider carrying on sitting there. Yes, we are fans who hang through every scoreboard minute until the players shake hands, the field is swamped with running, star-struck kids and the alma mater

Where The Blue Ridge Yawns Its Greatness, Where the Tigers Play

has been sung.

We do love Clemson football.

So it was with particular excitement that we prepared for Game 1 of Season 2015. Eliza, our graduate, would be coming to the game with us, as would Jenna and Jayme, daughters of our dear friends and tailgate buddies, the Rojeks. The game would be followed by a fabulous holiday weekend at a cabin in the mountains of Highlands, North Carolina–a once in a lifetime opportunity, we realized, spending this time all of us together before our worlds divide, our girls starting their separate grown-up lives.

What a joyful time we had, beginning with the tailgate itself. The forecast for rain manifested in one post-game clap of thunder and one short downpour that found us huddled up (selfie-style) under our big tent.

Look! The Maibergers are here, too!

Then we headed for the mountains and two very full days that did not disappoint. We drank coffee and watched the sunrise, we drank wine and watched the sunset, and by the time the weekend was over we’d solved nearly every world problem. It was glorious!

But most of all, it was a time for us to gather, families who love each other deeply, friends who have experienced–together–the unfathomably quick passage of time as we watched our children grow from sweet little girls into smart, beautiful, independent women.

How did this happen, is the question we asked each other over and over. And then we raised a glass and toasted them all, Jayme, Jenna and Eliza, joy and pride on our lips, and in our hearts, gratitude, deep and profound.

Jay, Jayme, Cathy, Jenna, Eliza, Julie, Tim 9.6.15 Highlands, North Carolina

30 Days Of Fun III

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