Graduation Day

Yesterday was a big day in our house…our first graduation! Our daughter J graduated from pre-school. So, last night we headed off to a local high school to watch the ceremony.

Now I am notorious for being emotional so the day before J’s graduation, dozens of friends and family asked me “Are you ready for this?” “Are you going to be okay?”.

Truth was as I headed off to graduation I was okay and actually excited for my daughter. But then of course we entered the gym and noticed a slideshow playing of all the graduates. And as my luck would have it, the slideshow was set to emotional classics such as “Hard to say Goodbye to Yesterday”, “Wonderful World” and “Yesterday”. Before I knew it…Niagra Falls!

As my daughter walked in proudly and waved at me from her chair in her red graduation gown, I couldn’t help but get the classic Hallmark flashbacks of J’s birth. Now here we were ending a chapter of a book it seemed we just started yesterday.

Could we really be done with preschool? Could we really be mere months away from starting school? A dozen thoughts went through my mind…is she ready? Am I ready?

But ready or not here we were ready to get the first in a long line of diplomas.

During the graduation, each graduate had to walk up to the microphone and say what they wanted to be when they grew up. I listened to the oohs and ahhs from the parents as  “When I grow up….” was yelled into microphone over and over. There were about 20 police officers, a dozen teachers, half dozen firemen, a few nurses, but only one Fashion Designer. I’ll give you 2 guesses who that was. Yep, Miss J walked up to the microphone and proudly announced to the world “When I grow up I want to be a Fashion Designer”.


I know in her lifetime J is going to want to be a million things. Seems like only yesterday I was sure I was going to be a marine biologist. Now the only water I see daily comes from the water cooler in the break room of my law office. But still, just hearing J mention a dream for her future reminded me that her future is really not that far away.

I used to roll my eyes at all the people that said to me when my babies were first born: “Don’t blink because before you know it they’ll be grown up”. I’ll even admit that when H was born and went through the months of colic I sort of wished I could speed things up a bit! But, now I have to smile because those people were spot on. I have only been a Mom for about 5 years but those 5 years have gone at lightning speed. And because I have yet to find the pause or rewind button to life I know this is only going to get worse.


So J's graduation was just another reminder for me to cherish every second of these years with my kids and not take any moment for granted. Before I know it, graduations will be just pages in a scrapbook and my little fashion designer will be living her own life!

So one graduation done, many more to come. And for those of you who have graduations coming up in the next few weeks, don't forget to pack your tissue for you never know when they'll bust out Boyz II Men during a slideshow!!
Mandi