Graduation 2010

    I wrote this several years ago.  Our oldest has now successfully graduated from college and we have 2 others who have graduated and a 4th graduating in 2015.  Some feelings never change others you never revisit again.

Our oldest graduated from High school the beginning of June and there are no words to prepare you for this event. Things occur before graduation that make your toes curl and hair fall out. During graduation it is wedding like in the fact that you hardly remember the event itself. After graduation there is the flurry of activities, picture taking, people greeting, and then the party. It all begins the beginning of your child's senior year...With the Senior pictures. I know what we did in my hometown for senior pictures and it involved a very expensive photographer and lots of pictures that I look at now and wonder what I was thinking!! Here it was a whole different situation...A photographer came to the school took the tux/formal drape picture then several other poses of your choice around the school or outside. You had the option of purchasing or not-you can pay a ton of money and go to a photographer or your choice. When we got our sons proofs in the mail I was amazed at how good they were for how simple the setting. We ordered from the school photographer and paid less than my mom did 23 years ago! We went with 2 poses and I was thrilled with the simplicity of the process!

After you complete the senior picture portion of the senior year your next step is College...making sure your senior has applied to colleges of choice and you wait...While you are waiting however you are made aware most of the year the correct or incorrect choices your child has made in scheduling classes these past 4 years of high school. You will finally start to hear from colleges around November if they applied for early admission or January for regular colleges. This comes as a great relief and at the expense of the realization that this is your child's last year under your roof full time.

That is another whole new experience also...at each event of your child's senior year your mantra will be, "this is sons last high school dance, this is sons last high school homecoming, his last football game..." I know, depressing, but you find yourself thinking it a lot! It's the slow letting go of that child-setting them free little by little. By the time you reach graduation it's amazing how prepared you have become for letting go. Now don't get me wrong..when I drop him at college I will surely cry like a baby but I am aware of this and will bring Kleenex!

The next huge event comes when they are measured for cap and gown. This entails more money, more pictures, and more letting go..

Being a military family and not living close to our extended family poses a whole set of problems that never occur to you. For example, the family coming from afar and staying at your house. You want them close yet it's hard to fit to many more into our 4 bedroom house since we already have 9 people and 2 dogs living here. We fit everyone comfortably, made it to graduation and the after party looking appropriate!