First Solo!!

I got home the other day and reflected for a while. I got onto the flight scheduler and found some time in my instructors schedule for the next day. I booked it and checked the weather outlook. Things looked good. I got to the airport early and did a thorough preflight check. I was done early so I sat in the airplane and contemplated what it was I was about to attempt. I acknowledged that I was indeed a little afraid of what was to come. I knew that it was going to be up to me to prove myself. I contacted Potomac Approach and got my DC ADIZ transponder code. My lesson was scheduled for 1500Hrs. but by 1515Hrs. my instructor had not come out to the aircraft to meet me. I didn't really want to be a pain but I called his cellphone anyway. When I told him that I was sitting in the airplane he seemed surprised. He told me that he was about to leave the airport. I told him I had scheduled the flight time last night. He looked at the latest schedule and sure enough I was there. A few moments later he came out. I told him that I didn't want to wait any longer and that I wanted to see if I could solo today. I also told him that I had the fear in me. We got in and started up. A quick taxi over to the run up area and then a run up and final before takeoff check. All controls free and correct, all gauges in the green.
Take off from Runway 10 and around the pattern to the right. I thanked my instructor for staying after because I knew he had had a long day. He said that it was solo week because he had recently soloed two other students and he thought that soloing a third would be good luck.
Once around the pattern and in for a landing. Not my greatest but I've had worse. My instructor said, "Let's go" and pushed the throttle to full power. We were up again for our second pass around the pattern. Now there was another slower aircraft in front of us and my instructor asked me to slow down, extend my downwind leg and communicate this to the other aircraft. No problem. Once that was done I advised that we would be on a long final. We still needed some room so we did some S Turns on the final approach before lining up with the runway. Another decent landing and full power to takeoff again. Before I knew it we were around the pattern again and on the ground. "What now?" I asked. I was told to taxi back toward the runway and to stop near the operations building. Once I did that my instructor told me that he would be watching me from nearby and that he would have a portable radio that probably wouldn't be working too well. He said that if he needed to call me he would run into the operations building. He also said that when I made my first landing I was to taxi back to where he was standing and wait for his hand signal. A thumbs up meant continue to the runway and fly another pattern. A thumbs down meant that I should taxi back to the ramp and await further instructions. The last thing he said to me as I watched him open the door and unplug his headset was that I would do just fine and that without his 200+ pounds in the right seat the airplane would perform better. The door closed and he walked away.
I was by myself now. I had the presence of mind to start the elapsed timer to track my time. After he was clear of the plane I taxied silently to the runway. I had between now and the takeoff roll to call the whole thing off. I had come this far, no sense in calling it off now. One last check of the pattern and the gauges and I lined up on the center line. Full throttle...down the runway...rotate...and my wheels were off the ground.
I was committed to landing this airplane now and there was no turning back. I had to do some of that pilot stuff. I got around the pattern and onto the downwind leg as I remembered my power, speed, and flap settings. Two more turns, base then final. More power and speed reduction, flap extension and crosschecking altitude and descent rates. Line up with the runway center line and cross the numbers. Roundout...Flare...and...touchdown. I knew that I had landed because it was a little harder than I would have liked. It was far from my worst landing and I realized that I had done it alone. As I taxied back toward the operations building I saw my instructor with one of his arms in the air. His thumb was pointed to the sky. As I turned to taxi back to the runway I gave him a thumbs up and a quick salute to let him know that I understood. Before takeoff I wiped my hands on my pants because they were getting slippery from sweat. Another takeoff. This time I wondered if I had just had beginners luck. I still had two more landings to go. There was another airplane in the pattern ahead of me. A high wing Cessna that I mistakenly assumed was another 172. As I flew the pattern it appeared that I was "tailgating" the plane all through the pattern. When I get to the downwind leg I slowed a little sooner and added flaps to try and put some distance between us. In hindsight I discovered that the plane in front of me was a two seat Cessna 150 with an engine that was 55% smaller than mine. I was crowding him in the pattern because his approach speeds are much slower. It worked out okay for the base and final legs but since I was close to the other plane it threw my concetration off and I began to get a little too slow. I corrected for this and touched down a second time. I was ready to seal the deal. Another taxi back to my instructor and another thumbs up. I was able to wait a little and let the Cessna 150 get to his base leg in the pattern before I took off. I was determined to get this one right. There were no distractions this time as I lined up for final. Full flaps, power to idle and maintain center line on the runway. I crossed the numbers a little fast but I began to round out and my speed was dropping. A little dance on the rudder pedals helped me stay near the center line and straight on the runway. As I began to slowly sink I had gone down the runway a little more that I would have liked but the plane was just settling so nicely that I didn't care. More back pressure on the stick and I could feel my speed decreasing and the plane settling. I watched the airspeed bleed off and I was rewarded by the sound of the stall horn as the main gear floated just a few feet from the surface. More back pressure and the mains kissed the pavement. Speed was decreasing as I continued the back pressure and slowly settled the nose wheel onto the pavement. That was a keeper. My best landing ever. I yelled "Touchdown!" to no one in particular and began my roll out and taxi toward my instructor. I called clear of the runway and taxied over to the tie down as my instructor played lineman. I shut down the engine and met my instructor. He congratulated me and told me that my last landing was indeed my best one. I locked up the aircraft and returned to the office. After some paperwork and a handshake I was on my way.
I was very proud of what I was able to accomplish.