Tomorrow is the day … In just about 24 hours, my youngest graduates from high school.
Don’t worry; this isn’t going to be a sappy, sentimental post. Maybe tomorrow it’ll hit differently when they announce his name and he walks across the dais to collect his diploma, but right now, I’m good.
Not sad.
Not nostalgic.
Just ready.
We’re ALL ready.
I can’t be the only one who feels like we’re crawling to the finish line at this point. Maybe it’s because I’m old, but all this activity has made me more stressed and tired than usual.
Don’t get it twisted. This past month has been crazy and chaotic, but also exciting and fun. Celebrating all the ‘lasts’ — the last lacrosse game, senior night, playoff game, team banquet, prom, and of course, the last day of high school — has been a little bittersweet, but definitely more sweet than bitter.
The flurry of seniors-only ‘firsts’ — like the All-Star football game, senior breakfast, senior stroll, senior dinner, and senior awards — only added to the sweetness.
But if I’m being honest, it’s also been a rough couple of weeks.
Whoever decided to simultaneously schedule a slew of college deadlines (for things like orientation, housing, meal plans, classes, etc.) at the same time as all these year-end events and celebrations probably never had a high school senior. Getting a newly-minted 18-year-old to focus on his language placement exam or to complete his orientation packet when there are graduation parties he’d rather go to is bound to cause an argument or two.
And we’ve had plenty.
Maybe that’s why I’m not waxing poetic about tomorrow’s graduation. I’m ready for it to be here so we can move on to the next chapter — and the next set of deadlines. [At least until SWeek (senior week at shore) gets in the way and we start arguing again.]
But who knows? Maybe I’ll be a mess tomorrow when the day finally comes and it’s officially over. After all, he is my baby — and always will be.
—LJDT
