It's Family Day!

Another semester, another Family Day! Greendale Community College offers many opportunities to its students from a varied class schedule to school dances to a coffee bar in the student lounge. But one my favorite events every year is FAMILY DAY! It gives everyone a chance to come together and celebrate those that support us enough to send us to such a terrific and well-balanced institution.

The Family Day barbeque is always a lot of fun. It's almost like a mini carnival, just without a Ferris Wheel. Although, that gives me a great idea for next year. Perhaps we should start a petition now and send it to Dean Pelton and actually get a Ferris Wheel! But until then, the bouncy house is always the hit of the barbeque. From the small kids to the students, people bounce together all afternoon. And the barbeque gives us students a nice break from the cafeteria food for an afternoon.

I usually bring someone different to Family Day every year, just to make it more fun. Plus, I want to give all my family members an equal chance to enjoy a full day of fun at GCC. I'm lucky enough to enjoy time here every day, but all that excitement can be a lot for someone who is not used to it. So, I'm very cautious about who I choose to bring.

Since it appeared all my family members were tied up with work, hair appointments, dentist appointments and lawn mowing responsibilities, I brought my next door neighbor. He's an 80-year-old guy who lives alone since his family moved to Oregon. And thanks to the new ramps that Dean Isakson had installed over the summer, I was able to wheel him around campus with ease. I think he really enjoyed his day on campus. He was wiped out by all the excitement. Every time I would try to introduce him to someone, he was taking a nap.

Next year I am going to try to bring my cousin Julie. I ask her every year, but she always seems to have a conflict. Maybe if I get the dean to lock down the Family Day date sooner I'll have better luck at getting her to come. Since she's so pretty, I'm certain we would get a lot of attention at the Family Day gala. Someone might even ask one of us for a dance. How fun would that be?

Until then, I will keep all the fond memories of this year's activities close to my heart!