Parent Weekend at UPS

We just returned last night from visiting Mikayla at the University of Puget Sound for Parent Weekend. Mikayla is not only happy, she is joyful. She does not just have her roommate as her best friend; she has a huge cadre of friends, both male and female. She not only loves the school, she likes the town of Tacoma and appreciates living in the Pacific Northwest. She is so confident and content.

Mikayla's aunts, Bonnie and Mary came, too. They were on the trip last year when Mikayla was a prospective student and we visited the small liberal arts colleges in Oregon and Washington. We call them Mikayla's Aunt-ourage. It was full circle to come up for Parent's Weekend. Maybe we have just traversed half the circle. It will be full when we all go to Mikayla's graduation!

We stayed in a historic house that had converted to a bed and breakfast. It was the perfect place to stay, being a mile from the campus, extremely comfortable, and filled with other UPS parents. Knowing that the weather may be inclement, it provided a comfortable home-like atmosphere that was much more pleasing to be in than a motel room.

I flew up a couple of days early so that Mikayla and I could go to Victoria to visit friends. I felt privileged to have been able to pluck Mikayla from her routine and get several hours in the car and on ferries to catch up. After I flew up, I rented a car and drove down to UPS to wait in a for her. When Mikayla showed up, I could barely contain my excitement. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but I couldn’t wait to hug her.

The University of Puget Sound made the parents feel very welcome, with refreshments, scheduled events, an open door to classes, and a welcome speech by the president. I enjoyed the two classes Mary and I sat in on: Writing Poetry and Intro to Literature. In the Writing Poetry class, the dozen or so students sat around a rectangle made up of several small tables, with the professor at one end. When class began, he read a few lines that he liked from various students' poems and discussed the writing assignment for the next week. The class talked about the last assignment. Then he announced that the class was going on a field trip to the on-campus gallery to write about one of the displayed pictures. I got a lot out of visiting the classes. I saw how the professors interacted with the students in a respectful, positive way, how the students were attentive and contributed frequently. The professors knew all the students by name. This is just what I wanted for Mikayla, a supportive, non-anonymous environment that offers interesting and rigorous classes.

Last night’s flight was the most turbulent any of us have ever felt. The plane battling through the bumpy sky rattled our nerves and shook up my gut. I got very nauseous from the bumps and drops, shakes and vibrations.

Saying goodbye to Mikayla was not difficult, because she is so settled and we are going to see her in a week and a half for Thanksgiving.