Elsie tried not to let the guilt creep up; Meri was not the only one to express their desire to be at the ceremony, but she and Tyb had thought it best to be quick, quiet and small. Her own father had barely made it home in time and though he was displeased, he hadn't really said much. "I know, I'm sorry." She said anyway, because she was.

Reaching a hand down to pull Hallie into her lap, Elsie chuckled. "It feels like another lifetime to me." It really wasn't that long ago, seven years or so, but so much had happened between then and now that she felt like she was totally different person from who she had been at graduation. Maybe she wasn't and she was just exaggerating, but she felt like it was true.

"I hope so." Her own mother had been such a shining example of parenthood, though there were some things Elsie intended to do differently, that she hoped she could at least be half as good. She wasn't overly worried about Tyb either. Though they hadn't really talked about it yet, she rather thought he'd learned what not to do from his father. "It's a terrifying prospect, being responsible for an entire human being." She laughed again, but it was tainted with a hint of nerves.