Graduation and Family

Well, it's official: I graduated from North Park Theological Seminary on Saturday! While I write this as if I understand its implications, I do not. I am one of those people who has to reflect on events for a long time before I'm able to understand their importance or significance on my life. Does it feel different? No. Ask me in a year, and I may be able to verbalize how it feels.

So, my family got in on Thursday and Friday, and everyone was staying with me. It was wonderful and crazy and beautiful and reminded me of the good old days when all of us lived together with only one bathroom. It also reminded me of my introverted personality. Occasionally I had to tell the family, "I'll be in my room for the next hour. If there's a fire, knock twice, and I'll assess the situation for myself and exit through the window. Just don't come in." I'm hyperbolizing but not by much. Thankfully, they understand me pretty well and don't take it personally.

The only touristy thing we did was go down to Millennium Park on probably the grossest spring day possible in Chicago. It was cold, windy, and rainy, but we had to take the obligatory Bean picture. Here we are under The Bean with everyone else avoiding the pervasive, misty rain that seemed to fall directly into your clothing.

We all look pretty gross and cold (and my brother looks like the unabomber); I think this is right before we decided that being downtown wasn't a good enough reason to be miserable.

Our other activities included eating the obligatory Chicago pizza at Lou Malnati's, shopping at Lincolnwood Mall for shoes, hanging out in my living room watching Children of Men, eating pastries from Dinkel's Bakery for breakfast (I think this is the favorite part of Chicago for my parents; I am a secondary perk of the trip), and generally just talking and laughing with one another, which is probably the Bjorlin family's most-treasured pastime.

And yes, they even attended my graduation!

Since they left on Sunday/Monday, I've been sitting alone in a dark room rocking back and forth in the fetal position attempting to return to my introverted/extroverted stasis. Now I'm looking forward to a trip to God's country - Minnesota! Later.