Last weekend, my second child graduated from high school. I've never really regarded that as an accomplishment for the parent before, but I'm starting to rethink that. This doesn't mean that I am underestimating her hard work over the years, it just means that it occurred to me that with 2 down and 1 to go, that a lot of carpooling, field trips, birthday cupcakes, fund raising, practices and games, paying for tuition, uniforms, books, gas, overly priced, bad lunches, get your homework, do ya have a clean uniform,do your service hours, to them driving, worry, worry, worry,friends and drama, dances and prom, college visits, applications,ACT, AP classes until at last finals and graduation, have consumed this household and taken over the contents of my sadly slender wallet for a lot of years! Do I suddenly think that my wallet's size will increase with the transition from this school to the next? I'm not hardly that naive, but, now the burden of get up, get it washed, get it finished, eat, sleep, study, study, study will fall squarely on my daughter's shoulders. One step closer to self responsibility. I think she's ready. I think she'll do fine, probably far better than I ever did.
Graduation from high school makes me feel old. Older than I felt at 40. Now, when you speak of your children, you're not speaking of kids or even teens, but young adults. How did that happen? I don't remember it happening but all of the sudden, here we are. If I could have any wish for her today, it would be that my parents were here to love and cheer her on. We need our villages to encourage us and help us through. They would have been so proud. My Mom was so blindly biased about each of her 6 kids. We were the best at whatever we did. She was such a source of calm and of unconditional love. I wish that I had taken after her instead of from my Dad who just told the "truth" about you like it or not, pretty or not and usually when you wanted it least, but my family tends to see him in me more than her. I catch myself behaving like him more and more of the time as I get older. I've coined a term for it, a Raymondesque moment.
Maybe this is a graduation of sorts for parents too. Somehow I don't much feel like throwing my hat in the air or staying up all night to party. I just sit back in my recliner reflecting on how fast this all happened. My Dad told me it would. I guess I should have listened.
