Graduation

So, the youngest one graduated from high school....  and except for the moment when his sister mentioned that this was the first time in 12 years that there wasn't one of my children playing "Pomp and Circumstance" in the band ensemble, I kept my chin up.

Luckily, there was a malfunction of the equipment that would have played the DVD of photos of all the graduates set to the sort of music that makes mothers dissolve into helpless puddles all over the gym.
So, I escaped  having to snort and sniffle my way through the last hour or so of the ceremony.

I've been a mom for a long, long time...25 years, to be exact, and I'll tell you, nothing feels quite as right as
realizing that the kids are going to be ok in life, regardless. Ten years ago, I was critically ill and there were days that it did not seem that I might see this day.  For this day, I am grateful.

Solid education, multiples of diplomas and degrees  represents several things.  It does represent the fact that their father and I have consistently demanded a high standard of achievement.  As a parent, I do believe that you have to require their best.  But more than anything, it represents kids who have been sturdy and capable in doing what was required of them, by their parents and their teachers, professors and mentors consistently and constantly for years.  It represent their understanding that hard work, day in and day out, pays off.  It represents that from the oldest to the youngest was a steady stream of excellent examples and support of each other... they've been each other's best cheerleaders.  It represents that they have been blessed with bright minds and healthy bodies and solid character to do the job at hand.

It represents a beginning...the taking in hand of all that they've learned and setting forth on life's journey, better prepared and ready and willing to work hard and undertake the tasks that they'll come up against in life.

For these young adults,,, my children,,, I have prayed every day, every single morning and night of their time on the planet, for their lives to be as God would plan.  I have prayed that their educational road will serve them in the lives that they are meant to lead.  I expect them to use their knowledge and their skills to the best of their abilities and I pray for them to have family and friends who love them and support them on their journeys, not just on the happy days, but when the days are long and hard and when the struggles come, as they certainly do. I pray that they always have each other to stand beside, shoulder to shoulder, arms around each other, love and support that only siblings can know.  I hope and pray that their closeness as siblings, continues through their lives of work and busy-ness.

I pray that their world of work and their spiritual journey are not far from each other, so that they may serve God and mankind as they were made to do.

I pray that I live to see their lives unfold and that they know how much their mother loves them every single day of the rest of their lives.