May was Graduation Month

They are ready … ready to move on.

In May, a lot of Illinois high school seniors finished up their high school career and got to graduate.
Caps and gowns are bought, yearbooks are delivered, speeches are held, ceremonies are planned and carried out, certificates are handed over…

the tassels are moved and the caps are thrown.

In the following weeks after this life event there are big and small private parties, celebrated in honor of the students and their accomplishments.

Then, lots of these seniors are headed for college to become freshmen again.

One of them is my daughter. She is ready, too – ready to explore the world, broaden her horizon, learn a lot more, and start anew.

But Wait! I am not ready. Not ready at all. This school year and all the crazy things it brought went by so fast, and now all I have left is two months with her to imagine how life will look for me when she moves to her small cozy college dorm in August. If you are a parent you surely understand what I am talking about 🙂

The last couple of months were very busy and kind of exhausting – for her and for us parents. So many dates and appointments to get ready for this transition, so many questions to ask, answers to find, and arrangements to make. But it is all good. I’m happy for her, she found her place (at least for now) and is itchy to move on.

A friend told me I was smiling while I took pictures of her at the graduation ceremony.
I didn’t notice, but it is exactly what I feel. I am proud of her, she has grown into a wonderful young woman, she achieved so much, and I’m sure she “will go to all the awesome places”.

Of course, I’m sad, that she will leave the nest, but it is necessary – for her and for me – and I am glad that she is ready to go. I can’t wait to see what she will do with her life.

Besides, there are a lot of things, I can look forward to, right?  … E. g. I can’t wait to be called by my  real name again. If you are a “Mom” you know what I mean. Just think the pediatrician’s office – you are not called by your name, they just order you around like, “Mom, you can sit here” or “Mom, you can wait outside”… I mean, total strangers call me “Mom”? That’s just strange, don’t you think? But this might be over now.

I’m not just happy for her, I’m also happy for the all the memories I have because I took so many pictures.

For our graduation party I prepared a slide show showing her from baby to graduation, and looked through thousands of pictures from the last 18 years, picked the best, and still ended up with over 900 🙂 Sure, I had to take out a few more 🙂 but the video still is 45 min long.

And I could watch it over and over again.

If you had or have a senior, how do you feel about this? Let me know in the comments…

Until next time … Never stop reading!