Last night I attended my nephew's high school graduation. Suddenly graduations are piling up with many of our friends graduating their children. We have seven graduations this year. Wow.
The fact it's May and that means there are lots of graduations is not what's surreal. The surreal part is that I'm not the one walking across the stage accepting a diploma or watching my friends do the same. The surreal part is I'm a perpetual member of the audience watching my children and my friends' children do it. As usual I am surprised I'm old enough to have a grown up child. I'm even more surprised that everyone I know (and many I have known since we were teenagers) has grown up children.
Here are some things I observed last night amidst family, friends, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
1) Children get younger and younger at high school graduations every year.
2) Since one of the graduating boys (who I have known since he was missing his front teeth) joined the Marines this week, I am old enough to be the mother of a soldier defending me and my country against Al Queda terrorists. I am also old enough to be the mother of a soldier that carries and knows how to use automatic weapons. Just think on that for a minute.
3) My nephew, who is not even my oldest nephew, is sporting a sassy looking goatee. The baby boy I remember from just yesterday is certainly not old enough for facial hair. I'm just sayin'.
4) Most of my friends were graduating their second, third, fourth, etc. child. Most of them were not graduating their first. Like me, the first graduation has come and gone and we're now on to graduating our younger children. Which, for some reason, correlates to me feeling older. Why is that?
5) At 9:30pm, I'm barely conscious and ready to fall into bed. At 9:30pm, high school graduates are ready to paint the town and meet up at IHOP around 2am for breakfast. I used to be able to do that. I used to be young once.
As you can see, my mid-life crisis is ongoing. When will I come to grips with my elderliness? Only time will tell.
Congratulations, Zach, on your high school graduation!! You make your old decrepit elderly favorite aunt proud!!
8 comments:
Lady Why, Thank you for the kind words on your nephew!! As the mother of that sweet child I too am feeling rather old and sad... I can say that I am thinking the
6th Grader and 1 st Grader aren't going to be allowed to grow up!! It is wonderful watching God use our wonderful children but it is so hard on a mommy's heart to let them go!!
I too am having a mid-life crisis. Someone I graduated from high school with just became a grandpa. I'm not old enough for him to be a grandpa. :)
Congratulations to all of your graduates.
Congrats to Zach! You said you have received 7. I talked to Joy and she got her 11th in the mail yesterday and was overwhelmed with them all.
Fiddly, you are so right. Let's just vow right now to not let them grow up another minute. Enough is definitely enough!!
But, it is fun to watch them graduate. I love to see it and I saw a special look of pride on the faces of your parents and Grandpa Fred and Grandma Pat! We need to ask them how they can stand to watch their GRANDCHILDREN grow up when I can barely stand to see it happening to my children!!
By the way, just wanted to point out that your 6th grader and 1st grader... they are now officially a 7th grader and a 2nd grader.
(ducking and running)
Tina,
Now I'm going to have to draw the line at my friends becoming grandparents. That will make me pull out the walker for sure!
don't forget the Depends, lol!
It was great to see you again! I saw your father-in-law and your other family members but I didn't see Patsy or Wendy. Tell them all hello for me!
~JG
Patsy and Wendy weren't there. I'm not sure what kept Patsy from his high school graduation but I think someone said Wendy had a baseball game... and you know NOTHING keeps Wendy from a baseball game! :-)
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