I AM THE MOTHER OF A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE.
Not sure how I feel about all this, and in some ways, it's harder than I thought it would be. But our weekend was a great one! I'm very thankful.
The weather was just perfect, gorgeous and sunny, not overly humid or thick. I know there's absolutely nothing you can do about weather except to make the most if it when it isn't agreeable, and to be exceedingly grateful when it is. The plan for the ceremony was for me to arrive early, save a row of seats, and then all the guys would join us. Well, Isabelle and I were there nearly an hour early and it was already PACKED. We had to park far away, so it took a bit to walk down to the school, and by the time we made it inside, I got a little panicky because so many seats were already filled or reserved. Ethan's girlfriend actually had saved us an entire row since she'd been there with the NHS helping to set up, and I was really glad for it!
The ceremony was great but it was SO long. Too long. Over two hours, and this is a small school. Barely a hundred seniors graduating. There were two speeches that were 25 minutes long! 25 minutes!!! Several others were almost as long winded- and they were good, they really were, but they should have been condensed. I'd been worried about how Levi would handle it, and he was a champ. I was super proud of him. There were kids melting down all around us, which should have been a sign to the speakers, haha, but he held it together so, so well. I did end up taking him into the hallway to cradle him in my arms as they finished up with the diplomas, and it was utter chaos as soon as everyone started filing out into the hall where we were. I hate crowds, like really hate crowds, and all I wanted was a family picture...but I couldn't find my family, so my heart was already pounding and anxious at this point.
I'm going to call this a successful shot, though I wish my husband had gotten the memo that the graduate is supposed to be front and center.
I'm including this one because I think one day I will look back on it and smile and not notice all my flaws as much as I do right now. Plus I'm all puffy from crying. I mean, I'm not crying, you're crying.
By the time we returned home, it was still nice and sunny, but the wind had picked up and had blown away nearly every sign I'd put up (when it was perfectly still earlier in the morning). I tried to handle it all with grace, but I've got to be honest and say that my nerves were shot and I was getting close to losing my mind a couple of times. I did the best I could, and everyone was really kind to say afterwards that they had a great time and that it all looked so festive.
You can see the poor dog-eared corner because it kept blowing over, and some of the other things wouldn't stay in place, but I thought this simple table looked nice. He received a lot of recognition and awards this year, and I didn't even include any from years' past. I'm really proud of him- he's such a wonderful guy, he really is! The grey book on the left was a real labor of love, partly because I can be indecisive but mostly because I just wanted it to be perfect. It's a photo book from Shutterfly filled with special moments and memories, and I hope it encourages him and reminds him of how much we love him when he leaves in the fall.
This party will definitely go down as the one least photographed, ha! I was too busy hosting and chatting and just having fun, so that's the best reason, right?
It got so hot, and since the weather looked good, we decided we wouldn't set up the big tent we'd purchased, so the table was for sure a hot spot. We told everyone to feel free to move their chairs to the shade, and they did. :)
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