Applications, Adulting (18!), Scavenger Hunt, & Soccer

We kicked off October with a field hockey game versus Charlotte Catholic, soccer practice and then Brayden submitted her first round of college applications to Clemson, Georgia, UNC Chapel Hill, and the University of South Carolina. I captured it all on video and it was pretty moving. She was excited, nervous, and expressed how she didn’t want all of her hard work to be in the hands of one person who would be dictating the path of her life. I reminded her that no one is in control of that except herself and that she has done all the hard work now to prepare her to start receiving an influx of acceptance letters! Regardless, I know it must be super overwhelming, nerve-wracking, exciting, and all of the feels. I know she was also relieved to have four of them knocked out, especially the essays, which were pretty daunting, considering she had to write 14 overall. Once these four were submitted, she continued to work on the deliverables for the rest of them. 

Trent went to see a band called 20 Ride at the Ballantyne Amp, which is a Zac Brown cover band that also plays other hits. I know he had a great time there. Meanwhile, I flew off to Palm Desert, California for a work-related girls’ get together before our annual major customer conference. We stayed at the Westin in one of Paige’s timeshares and it was awesome! It was Chris, Fani, Laura, Becky, Paige, and me for two nights. We enjoy laying by the pool, going to some great restaurants for dinner, and most importantly, having dance parties in the kitchen. It was great to shake off a lot of steam from all the stress leading up to the event. Then, we all checked into the JW Marriott in Palm Desert where the conference kicked off! This was my 24th annual conference that I’ve been involved in planning. Pretty crazy when I think about it. I managed a successful 5K run where we had about 30 people who ran. The conference itself was awesome. While we had fewer attendees this year, only one session was canceled, I hosted the annual ladies’ toast in my room for a bit of a pre-party before we headed to our Retro Pool Party, and the back half of the conference went really well in terms of all of the post event forums that I managed. It was a great week and always amazing to see my fabulous coworkers! 

While I was gone, Trent and the girls went to the NC State vs. Wake Forest football game, Hanleigh had a soccer game, and Myers turned eight years old. Brayden had her homecoming parade where all the field hockey players walked from the high school and then around the block. I flew back home just in time to hop in the car a day later to head to Raleigh with the family to the NC State vs. Syracuse football game. Finally, our first one is a family this season, which is crazy because it was already mid-October and we hadn’t all been to a game together. Brayden made senior sweatshirts with her fellow senior field hockey players. They took some patterned fabric, cut their jersey numbers out of it and ironed them on. Hers turned out really well. She even put the fabric around her sleeves for a unique twist! Hanleigh had another soccer game and her skills continued to improve. While she mostly plays defense, the coach occasionally moves her to midfielder. It’s great to see her really enjoying this sport! Later that weekend, we went out to dinner with Fran & Terry to Duckworth’s to celebrate her birthday a day early. This is because on Monday evening, Brayden had her field hockey senior night! We’ve always gone to these ceremonies and games in the past, but it was always from the viewpoint of watching someone else’s senior student be honored on the field. This year, that was not the case. It was our daughter who was the senior! All of the girls were dressed in their regal purple capes and flower halos as they were formally introduced and met their family on the field. It was very emotional, but I was able to manage not getting too teary-eyed in front of the crowd. Her team is so close and she constantly talks about how much of a bond they have all formed. This is incredibly special and apparently, unique. 

A couple days later, Brayden celebrated her 18th birthday!!! She is officially an adult!!! How in the world this has already happened is beyond me! About 80% of the time when I look at her, my brain immediately flashes back to her around the age of three or four years old, riding a little tricycle in our driveway. It seems like no matter how much she has grown, that is the imprint I have in my mind of who she is. So, to see her this develop into this strong, independent, funny, outgoing, beautiful, and amazing human being that will be fleeing the nest in less than a year is super surreal! While she is first and foremost, our daughter, she has evolved into our best friend as well. She’s so incredibly fun to hang out with and lights up our life. Watching her and Hanleigh’s bond as sisters becoming more strong is beyond special. They truly enjoy each other’s company and many times, we find them laughing, wrestling, dancing, and acting just plain silly together. It’s a beautiful sight! Every year since she has been in kindergarten, I’ve had a recurring, yearly reminder to bring cupcakes to Brayden’s school so she can share them with her friends. In honor of her birthday this year, I sent this note to her: “I’ve had this as a recurring, yearly reminder to bring cupcakes to you at school since you were little, Brayden. On the eve of your 18th birthday, I thought about how this is the end of an era, however, I am thankful there are such things as care packages in college. Your days of getting cupcakes for your birthday are far from over, little lady. I love you. Mama.”

She turned 18 on a Thursday, which just so happened to be the same night that she had her National Honor Society induction ceremony. Not ideal timing, but it was still an honor nonetheless. She had applied to be part of it last year, but wasn’t inducted. This year, she submitted her application just in the nick of time while we were at the lake. The ceremony was brief, yet impactful and her principal delivered a great speech to highlight what an honor it is to be part of such an elite group of students, especially considering that over half of their school has a 4.0 GPA. It is because of their character that they rise above and are recognized with this distinguished honor. We are extremely proud of her! After the ceremony, the four of us went to dinner at North Italia, one of her favorite restaurants. We came home and she opened her presents, one of which was a super creative gift from Hanleigh. She had stacked a bunch of gift bags inside of each other, kind of like a Matryoshka doll, and when Brayden opened the last box, there was a clue inside. So began the scavenger hunt. After navigating through multiple notes and rooms, the search ended in Hanleigh’s room where she opened a bag that had a homemade piece of art in a frame that said “Sisters by Chance, Friends by Choice”. Apparently, it mimicked a sign from the show Liv and Maddie. When Brayden opened it, she knew exactly what it was and I think she even teared up. It was really cute and so incredibly thoughtful. I think she plans on taking it with her to college. Happy 18th birthday, Brayden! 

Trent and I had an impromptu date night before dinner where we went to Tap and Vine for some cocktails. Brayden attended a Friday night football game, and the next night, the girls and me went to the Cellar at Duckworth’s for dinner, before heading to a concert. This was Brayden’s big birthday gift from us: tickets to see Lauren Watkins, Larry Fleet, Bailey Zimmerman, and Morgan Wallen! The show was absolutely amazing and we had the best time. I don’t think we sat down once. You can also tell I thoroughly enjoyed it because I think I videotaped the entire concert as evident by the video link below. Bailey Zimmerman was an absolute hoot. He’s young and full of energy and did these funny dance moves when he wasn’t singing. Morgan really knew how to work the crowd and his voice sounded awesome. We would definitely see Bailey & Morgan in concert again. The next day, I enjoyed a relaxing massage and a couple days later, Brayden had her last official field hockey game as part of the playoffs, where the team and many parents (including Trent) traveled to Chapel Hill High School. After the game, the girls formed a circle, wrapping their arms around each other and shedding tears. This would be the last time this group was all together at once and they knew that was the case. They have formed such a close-knit bond over many years (for some of them it has been seven years, since middle school) and it is beautiful to watch how they have evolved as players and matured as women. Brayden has told us before that this is the closest team she’s ever been a part of.

Brayden submitted her fifth college application to Appalachian State University, which is only one of two of the schools she’s applying to that has rolling admissions. This means that once you apply, you hear back when they’ve reviewed your application versus at a certain date when all applicants hear back. Brayden and I went to dinner at 131 Main, which was a delayed birthday gift from her to me. It just took us two months before there was an evening that would work out well between school events, sports, and other travels. Trent woke up early one morning to run the Terror Trails eight-mile race, then later that day Hanleigh had a soccer game. She continues to improve and does such a great job of communicating to her teammates on the field, something that seems rare with middle school girls. That evening, we had the extended family over for a dinner (catered by Brown Bag) to celebrate Brayden’s birthday at our house. It was delicious and everyone had a great time. Once everyone had left, the four of us cuddled up on the back porch to watch the Concert for Carolina, which was a benefit for the Western North Carolina hurricane victims and it raised nearly $25 million! The next day, I had lunch with Tonya and Heather at Burton’s and then our family went to our neighbor’s house for a pumpkin-carving party. I had a facial later that week, and a delicious dinner at Flower Child with Julie, complete with deep conversations and tons of laughter. We capped off the month with the annual Halloween party at The Whitcomb’s house. Trent dressed up as Forrest Gump with a long beard and running clothes, while I dressed up as the colonial woman on the wing churning butter from the movie Bridesmaids. I always like making my own outfits and it’s really fun to get creative! The girls were out with their friends and Hanleigh was part of the kiss/mary/kill game trilogy with Ray and another friend, while Brayden worked that evening (she changed shifts with another person so that she could be off work over the next weekend to attend two different Halloween parties). It was another fun and busy month!

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