Long, Longer, Longest

Two weeks down, fifty to go.

We are finally on that calendar that has been on my wall for a year and a half already.  I don't know if I should wipe off things as they happen, or check them off or put a big red X through each one, but we are finally, actually on the calendar and getting through the items on it.  Wow!

This past weekend, I did my first Installation of the season.  It was great fun, but I was worried about getting my lines right because it was the first time I did this work in front of people since 2002, when I was Worthy Matron and installed my successor.  But I only had one blank moment, and you can bet I won't forget the word "preserve" again any time soon!

I had the most lovely surprise at the end of the Installation.  The Chapter presented me and my WGP and our escorts with Honorary Memberships.  Usually that is done, if it is done at all, at the Official Visit, so I was completely surprised and totally flattered.  I got all choked up, thanking everyone.  I know that many Chapters do not give Honorary Memberships at all and many give them only in the most limited of circumstances, so it was very kind of this Chapter to do that.

Unfortunately, that led me to search my house for over an hour for the Honorary Membership book that I was given two years ago and of course put away for safe keeping, only to discover that the book is too big for the certificates to fit easily and not big enough to fit two on one side of a page, and instead of being the pages I was expecting, made for sliding in the certificates, the book pages are like scrapbook pages, so I will need to go buy some transparent photo corners for affixing the certificates in the book, but what the heck!  I got one for now - YAY!

On Sunday, I attended the Reception for the Grand Drill Leader of California Rainbow.  Her mother is a member of my Chapter and she asked me to attend and I told her that I would be happy to do so, to support her and her daughter.  That was very interesting experience.

I confess a terrible truth - every time I attend a Rainbow function, I feel better about our Eastern Star escort, which still often takes too long, but nothing compared to Rainbow's number of categories and time for escort which seems to take forever and ever and ever.  This reception had a start time of 2:00 pm and my escort fell almost at the end, since of course all the Rainbow categories go first before they get to other adult groups.  So there was a bunch of escort, then there were a bunch of self-introduction categories.  Then I got escorted, then a few more self-introduction categories.  The thing is, by the time I was escorted, it was 3:00 pm.  There must have been forty-five minutes or so of escort and introductions.  Wow!  Then there were a few remarks and those were nice, but then the presentations started and each group apparently had to do some sort of multipart skit/quiz thing and these had the same problem that most skits have, namely that without a microphone, you can't hear anybody, so you sit there waiting for it to be over, unsure of what is going on, but trying your best to look like you are paying attention and not yawning, which is hard to do when you can't see or hear very much, especially as you pass the two hour mark and keep going.  I am certainly happy for the honored member and I hope most sincerely that every part of the reception was positive and meaningful for her.  And she got a totally awesome quilt!  It was fabulous!  And an amazing stand to go with it too!

In a couple of days, I leave for Texas for General Grand Chapter, for the Installation of the new Most Worthy Grand Matron and then her School of Instruction.  When I get back, my Chapter will have its installation.