Wrapping It Up (Finally)

I have to finish writing about the Line so that I can finally move on to other things.

At this point (and, well, basically since the day after my last post) the whole experience feels like ancient history. The details are fuzzy and I remember it the way I remember a dream. I'm going to recount it to the best of my ability, just so I can remember it longer. We'll see how this goes...

I got back to the line to join Timm Tuesday night. I brought him something to eat from McDonald's and I brought a coffee for myself. MickeyD's messed up Timm's order. And later someone brought up a whole bunch of homemade lasagnas to share with the Line so it turned out I didn't have to bring anything after all (but none of us ate the lasagna. And by "us", I mean Jen, Mat, Brian, Timm, and myself).
By the time I returned, the line had been moved from its place on the sidewalk up to the front steps of the school. People's belongings were assembled in numerical order, but people were milling around socializing, not just standing in their spot. It wasn't raining anymore, but Timm still had on the poncho, just in case.

(He'd hate that I put this photo up of him, but he doesn't read this blog, so I can do what I want! LOL)

 For the most part, the 5 of us stood in our numerical location in line. What I remember most about this part of the wait is the camera crews and the wise cracks. We were conveniently located in the background of just about every video crew's camera shots and we had a little too much fun talking about what stupid hilarious stunt we should do while on film... Fortunately none of those stunts were pulled, though it would have been Legen-Wait for it- Dary. A reporter actually approached Jen for an interview (which she politely declined). That poor reporter... The way she asked the question, you knew she expected to be turned down. It was sad and funny at the same time.


(if you play the video, you can see our little cluster... I'm hiding behind Timm there in the tan hoodie. Afterward, I think the news anchor lady makes fun of us...)

At 11pm we were allowed into the school building. That meant at about 10:45 the Line moved right up to the door, people got in their correct spot, and for me personally, actual uncertainty and nervousness set in. Despite the fact that this was the point at which the Line was actually supposed to look like a real line, it was more like a cluster of people all trying to cram as close together (and as close to the door) as possible. Maybe it was my claustrophobia that I get when in tight crowds, maybe it was all the faces that were suddenly there that I had never seen before, maybe it was my paranoia that people were going to start a stampede as soon as the doors opened, but my heart was racing and my palms were sweating. I was uncomfortable, to put it lightly.

But none of my fears became reality. When the doors finally opened, people moved in slowly and deliberately. No one was trampled. Though my heart didn't stop pounding until I was handed our official number and we were seated in the cafeteria filling out our paperwork.

Our official number was 28. Huge sigh of relief. I had also dreaded that somehow we would wind up with an official number higher than what we'd expected all along. Mat and Jen, and Brian were also relieved and excited

Finally, all we had to do was wait. I realize the irony in that statement. But really, we just had to sit there and wait for our name to be called and then we could go home. Mind boggling. What I found exceptionally amusing was a particular black woman, who had not been camping- she had waited until that day to show up and fill out paperwork to be put on the waiting list- was complaining about how long it was taking. Loudly. I'm so glad she didn't camp out in Line...

At long last, we were called. I geeked out and photographed the ladies processing the paperwork. They, in turn, photographed us. Victorious us.

It seemed like such an anticlimactic finale to our ten-day wait. There was no fanfare. The paperwork was simple. Our names were called out blandly (although there was random applause from the other campers as friends' names were called, which was cool). It seemed like music needed to be played. Or confetti. A free t-shirt? It was like, Wow- this is it?

But when we left the building, as soon as we opened the doors, raucous cheering and applauding greeted us! A few people who had been called ahead of us stuck around to cheer and encourage the other campers. The offered us victory drinks. We stood together for a few minutes, soaking in the reality. It is over. The wait is done. Our kids are going to be going to a fantastic school.

It was a crazy experience, but I'd do it all over again. It was a good experience. We made great friends and generally had a fun time together. Our kids had fun together. I'm looking forward to a post-Christmas reunion with Brian, Christy, Jen, Mat, Timm, and myself- and all the kids- next week (and more get-togethers in the future).

I wish I had a more poignant or meaningful way to wrap up this 'chapter' of my blog. Instead of finding just the right words, I'll leave you with this: