Graduation Suprise Revealed :)

How quickly this year is flying by and soon it will be time for Adrienne's graduation from high school. Adrienne has never wanted to have a traditional graduation party, so we told her that we could do something else instead. This summer Scott and I started thinking about what that might look like. She is eager to travel, wants to study International Relations and has a passion for the French language so it was easy to decide that we would surprise her with a trip to Paris. For many reasons, it was also easy to decide that I would get to go with her and Scott would stay back with Eliot and Elise over Spring Break.

My walking buddy and our neighbor is a French native. She travels to France every year with her husband and four children. She has helped me immensely in planning the big things like air and hotel. Originally, I wanted to keep the trip a surprise until we left. I thought that it would be great fun to wake Adrienne on the day of the trip, tell her that her suitcase is packed and to get dressed as we're leaving for the airport. But, it was getting harder for me to keep quiet. And, like my neighbor said, part of the fun of a big trip is anticipating and planning it.

We decided to give Adrienne her graduation surprise on Christmas Eve. Scott and I wanted it to be a family gift so we let Eliot and Elise in on the secret a few days beforehand. I wanted to let them process such a big gift and then enjoy giving it. They helped me wrap it in 4 separate boxes, each labeled in numeric order that contained clues to the gift. The 5th number was an envelope that held the airplane tickets and hotel information.

Needless to say, Adrienne was overjoyed! It was a lot to process on Christmas Eve. I was really proud of Eliot and how gracious he was to his sister. Elise tried hard to be excited too, but had a few tears in not getting to come with the girls. She sobbed, "I'm so excited for Adrienne and so sad for me." She hasn't shed anymore tears since Adrienne promised to bring her back something from Paris.

To celebrate graduation with her extended family, Adrienne has also invited her grandparents to spend some time with her in May. Each weekend leading up to graduation will be a celebration with a different set of grandparents. She loves spending ordinary moments with grandma and grandpa without the chaos that big family celebrations bring.

I told Adrienne that since I booked the air and hotel, she could plan the rest of the trip. In her present, we included a map of Paris and sticky notes. I had labeled our hotel. She has labeled many things and can't wait to talk to her french teachers and french mentor at school to add to the planning. I'm sure those sticky notes will change many times before we actually leave. She told me, "Mom, I'll plan it all out and then we can still do whatever we feel like." I'm just glad to have my own personal translator! Springtime in Paris will be a wonderful graduation memory.