¶We picked a spot on the bridge across the street from Leverett House to take some photos with family after the ceremony. I absolutely love this shot with Jake and Jonathan. Jake was so proud of Jonathan, boasting about him to his buddies all week.

¶They had a beautiful setup on the courtyard at Leverett House. Family had arrived early and saved seats for us, just off to the right and out of frame here. The green seats were reserved for the graduates, and Jonathan’s assigned seat just happened to be right next the the seats that were saved for us. It would have been a perfect setup, but the rain changed things. No worries…the main and house ceremonies were wonderful despite the rain.

¶Jonathan waited along the side of the theater after receiving his diploma. He was still grinning, and I loved it.

¶The rain arrived as we walked from the main Commencement ceremony to Leverett for the House Ceremony. Family members had saved us seats (the perfect seats, btw), but we never got to use them because the rain slowly built to a downpour, while ultimately forced the Leverett deans to move the ceremony inside. They split graduates into four or five smaller groups by last name (“Buchanan” paid off - the first group was A-D), and then held a ceremony in a small theater in the dorm for each group. It was a tough situation, but they did a great job of adjusting on the fly. Here Jonathan just received his diploma from the deans.

¶This gives some perspective on Harvard Yard during Commencement. We found seats a few rows back in this tent on old Yard; New Yard, which is where the stage is positioned and the graduates sit, is through those buildings in the distance. Several video boards are placed around the Yard (you can see one in the distance in this photo), and the audio was perfect. The rain never arrived…during the main ceremony at least.

¶I took this photo literally a second after the one above, a few frames later in the sequence. Jonathan had noticed Renee and me during that second and started to smile. I’ll never forget seeing that smile appear on his face as he noticed us in the crowd. Thank you, Renee.

¶I searched for Jonathan through the viewfinder, which was no small task. This is one of the first photos I took after finding him. He’s focused, and hasn’t found us yet. Renee’s off to my right, taking video.

¶Harvard holds Commencement in the full Yard - old and new. The entire area is covered in folding chairs. Getting a seat is not particularly challenging, but figuring out where to be to see your graduate enter the Yard is a different story. I had resigned myself to not being able to watch him walk into the Yard, but Renee pressed on. She found the absolute perfect spot for us to stand as Leverett House entered, which allowed me to get some great shots as Jonathan walked by. I’m forever grateful for her efforts, because I literally watched Jonathan’s smile appear on his face as he spotted us.

¶We took the T to a restaurant for dinner afterwards, Jonathan riding in full regalia. I captured this photo during that ride with my phone. Sometimes it’s the perfect camera.

¶Our family selfie on the steps of Widener library after the Class Day program.

¶We had a nice lunch on the Yard, complete with free beer. It was nice and relaxing before the Class Day ceremony got underway. Here’s Renee, Jonathan, and Kassia planning our next activities.

¶We really had a great day celebrating Jonathan today. So proud of him!

¶Class picture time! Here’s the Harvard College Class of 2024.

¶Today is the baccalaureate ceremony at Harvard. Apparently it’s the second longest-running traditional ceremony at Harvard, behind commencement, which means it’s likely a 300+ year old tradition.

¶We arrived a little early, so we’re trying to find good seats…and water.

¶Widener Library with three Veritas flags. Veritates - multiple truths - fits well with the theme of the address.

¶We’re staying near MIT for the week, so we’ve got a T ride into Harvard campus each day. Love this photo of Jake and me. Renee’s out of the frame, sitting down as we ride.

¶It sounds like Jonathan lost his tassel. We’ll see…commencement isn’t until Thursday, so he’s got a couple days to find it. I noticed this one as I wandered Harvard Yard before the ceremony this morning. Apparently his is not the only tassel that’s been misplaced.

¶The walkway was tight, but we managed to get some nice shots of Jonathan as he walked by. It was a little easier when the grads were leaving after the ceremony, heading to the steps of Widener Library for the class pic, which is when I caught this one of Jonathan.

¶This is a first for me - second charging stop of the day is at a supercharger at a casino.

¶It’s a dashboard sunrise kind of day.

¶I did have one slowdown along the way, about an hour outside of Boston. It’s always interesting, and a little disturbing, to get a closer look at things on the shoulder of the expressway. Things you typically never notice (or can’t notice) when zooming by at seventy miles an hour. I noticed several things during my 20-30 minute delay — tires, bottles, random metal car parts, shoes (seriously), and vape cartridges, to list a few.

¶I took this picture mainly because I couldn’t confirm the identity of this coily thing without the aid of pinching to zoom on my phone.

¶Yep - it’s a dead snake.