Dear Amie- part 4

*I am writing a letter to my grandmother.  You can read Parts 1, 2 and 3 here here and here.*
2008:
In January I started my final internship.  This was all day, every day teaching.  I thought I wanted to teach young children, so the college assigned me to Kindergarten.  In 4 weeks time, I went from teaching personable 5th graders to teaching essentially babies.  For the record, Kindergarten is NOT for me.  Also, LSU won the national championship in football.  I know you don't care, but UD, AT, C, L and I were very excited.

I made a promise to you as I laid next to you the night you passed away that I would graduate from college and I'd do it for you.  In April, I did graduate, with the highest honors, with my elementary education degree.  I used tape and put the words "For Amie" on my mortarboard.  In fact, the mortarboard still has the tape affixed to it.  That same day, UD, C and L got into a pretty bad car accident.  They were all ok, but the Tahoe wasn't.  They have a newer vehicle- one you'd be able to climb into better.  Also in April, Will met a horrible girl named Mercedes (more about her later).  He also tore his knee playing rugby.  This also comes into play later in the letter.

In June, Dad, Mom, Will, Mercedes and I all went on a road trip to Washington D.C. for the 4th of July.  While we were in that part of the country, I also convinced them to go to Philadelphia (remember when you and I went back in 1992?) and New York.  Had I known what my very near future was going to hold, I would have had Mom take me to Kleinfeld's Bridal Boutique.  Overall, we had a pretty good time and had I known it would be my last family vacation, I would have tried to enjoy it more, but with Mercedes and I butting heads 99% of the time we were gone, it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been.

In August, I met the man of my dreams.  His name is Doug and we met through a friend.  He is an aerospace and mechanical engineer in south Mississippi.  He was born in Connecticut and raised in Florida.  He went to the University of Florida, which you know went over well with UG and his Florida State loving self.  Also, LSU and UF are very competitive in football, so that's also interesting during football season.  I knew it was meant to be when I found out he was born on you and Granddaddy's anniversary- the first one you had without him.  He has dark hair and blue eyes, so there is hope yet for a blue-eyed great-grandchild.  I think you'd really like him; he's very sweet to me and wants nothing but the best for me.  Also, Will started his senior year, B and C started 8th and L started 4th. 

In September, with my current job ending, due to my employer's tax fraud, I decided to apply to jobs closer to Doug.  I quickly found one and moved to Mobile, AL and lived with Doug.  I know you wouldn't have approved of us living together before marriage, especially after knowing each other for such a short time, but it made the most financial sense.  Please don't be upset.  At the end of the month, I began teaching 3rd grade students with varying exceptionalities.  Sort of like Mom's first year of teaching, but worse.  I had one student who knocked over a porta potty while inside due to his ADHD and another student who had issues leaving his hands above the table...shall we say.

In November, the United States elected the first African-American president.  I know that this would not mesh with you- it doesn't mesh well with a lot of people.  I dragged Doug to Mistletoe where he met UD, AT, C and L for the first time.  UD and Doug talked football and professional jobs and C and Doug played video games together.  He also thought L was adorable, which she is.

In December, Doug proposed to me and of course I said yes.  We began planning a wedding for 10/10/09 thinking it would be cool to have our first anniversary on 10/10/10.  Unfortunately, the venue we wanted wasn't available on that date, since apparently others had the same idea.  We then went to Atlanta for our annual family gathering, where Doug met the rest of the crazy family members for the first time.  We also announced our engagement when everyone arrived.