Well, I survived the kids graduations. I even managed to do it without having to speak to any of the evil doers.
Wednesday Faith graduated. I know jr. high graduations are not the milestone that high school graduations, but her school is elementary only so it's their big deal. I got a call from Faith at about 11 a.m. asking when I'd be coming down to help the mothers decorate the church for graduation. Huh? Are these the same women who cut communication with me a month ago? I told her in the nicest way possible that since no one had contacted me that I had made plans to leave the bay area late and it was doubtful that I'd be there in time to help. She asked for help with her makeup, so I made plans to meet up with her as soon as I got into town.
She was the first one to march down the aisle. The dress was really very pretty and went well with her cap and gown. (yes, they did the whole bit) She played a clarinet solo, played with the class band and gave the invitation speech to the reception. I was so proud of her, she was so poised and confident as she accepted her diploma.
My son's graduation was much more casual. It was held on the lawn in front of the main school hall. There was reserved seating for family, but in true Jon fashion, he had managed to miss out on getting the tickets required to sit towards the front of the crowd. We picked seats in the middle on the aisle and I "leaped" over the cordoned off area when they received diplomas so that I could get a good picture. No small feat since I was in a dress and heels. He wanted to go celebrate with friends so we left him there with his promise to come spend the weekend later this month. He is planning to work for his dad and go to school part time.
Does this make me feel old? Well, yes and no. I do realize intellectually that I'm no longer a dewy 20 year old, but on the inside I still feel pretty vital. I realized that I appreciate the things that the years have taught me, and how now it is my children's turn to head into the turbulance of life and be polished. They will learn patience, restraint, compassion, disappointment, resistance, poise, persistance and hopefully a lot more than I did.
