GRATITUDES:
1. A good, sound, uninterrupted night’s sleep
2. Lunch with friends
3. A sweet, grateful daughter
4. 1BTN, a radio station based in Brighton, UK. They play a really eclectic mix, most of which is quite good.

WE’RE DONE. I emailed the final completed drawing last night and promptly thought about setting fire to my copious pile of sketches, doodles, rejects and finals. Fatigue won out and I packed it in a bit early, fell into bed and was blissfully unconscious for most of the night. Lauren came in to the office while I was scanning and cleaning up the last image and actually gave me snuzzles! She was sooooo burned out and listless yesterday that I was a bit worried about her but now she’s recovering. Next week is their last week of school before summer break and aside from a couple more final exams, both Lauren and Basil are pretty much in the clear. This last month has been grueling for them both.

Big news of the day: Basil will be going to Europe for 11 days next summer after graduation! I just signed them up for the trip this afternoon and now, of course, we’ll have to find a way of paying for it. The trip is being organized by two of the AP English teachers at the high school and it’s through an organization called EF Educational Tours. Their itinerary will take them to Ireland first, then England, then finally to Paris for two days before returning home. So, okay, it isn’t a full European tour, more like a taste, but even so, my kid is already a hopeless Anglophile and spending the majority of the tour in the UK should be an amazing experience. Also, once they get into Paris (they’ll be taking a train through the Channel Tunnel to get there), they’ll spend an entire day at the Louvre. THE LOUVRE!!!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! They’ll get to sightsee as well and they’ll probably have the opportunity to see the ongoing meticulous restoration of Notre Dame, which alone would be well worth the trip. Parents are allowed to accompany their kids but as much as I’d like to go, I think Basil is more than ready to do this on their own; or, well, with a group of their classmates and teacher-chaperones. They’d better take lots of pictures!😄