Graduation Day!!!

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
~ Dr. Seuss

This week, Sarah graduated from high school!!!  I know…I’m still in shock.  Whether I like it or not, Sarah is spreading her wings and starting a new chapter in her life (as am I!).  A wonderful new journey will soon begin for this 18 year old girl woman (and her aging youthful mother...ugh!).  While the reality of her being a high school graduate is slowly sinking in, I’m realizing now that I may have consciously unconsciously attempted to clip her wings for the last 18 years but now it’s clear, her wings are no longer clipped (it's quite possible that I never successfully clipped them anyways!) and she’s about to soar to great heights.  It’s interesting how, as I reflect on the last 18 years, that “clipping her wings” was my way of protecting her but I know better now (and when you know better, you do better!).   Life’s lessons come from experiencing life…by doing, by living, by being and sometimes, by making mistakes.  You have to live to learn!   By trying to protect her/shelter her, she may have missed out on some important life lessons but there’s no looking back now because...drum roll please...SHE DID IT!  So far, she has survived her infant years, her toddler years, her childhood, her youth, her teenage years and is now gracefully entering the mysterious world of adulthood!!!  Now that I think about it, I guess it would be more accurate to say WE DID IT!!!  We did, after all, survive those years together.  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t always about "surviving" because we had a lot of fun along the way but today, as I reflect back on the last 18 years, surviving those years is a testament to so many people:  Mom, Dad, my brother, BFF and her family, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, colleagues, teachers…basically an entire village!!!  You have no idea how happy I am that I didn’t completely screw up my kid (maybe just a little, right Sare?) and it’s thanks to all of the people in our lives.  

For the last 10 years, Sarah and I have been big fans of the television show Gilmore Girls, a show about a single mom, Lorelai, and her daughter, Rory, who basically grow up together (sound familiar?).   For those of you who know us well, we often reference a Gilmore Girls episode to describe moments in our lives (similar to how many of you can relate to a Seinfeld episode, or Simpsons episode, or Family Guy episode!).  Well, Graduation day reminded me of the graduation scene in Gilmore Girls.  I know Sarah’s probably thinking about the scene when Rory gets a Prius as a graduation gift but obviously that’s not the part that reminds me of the Gilmore Girls episode.  Sorry Sarah but there’s no Prius for you (funny enough that reminded me of the soup nazi in Seinfeld…no soup for you!).   It’s the scene when Richard Gilmore, Lorelai’s father, says to Lorelai on Rory’s graduation day:  “I will take the photos.  You just sit there and enjoy your daughter’s graduation.  This is as much your moment as it is Rory’s.  Enjoy it!”  So during the graduation ceremony, that’s exactly what I did...I enjoyed every moment (the lighting was horrible in the cafetorium so we couldn't take photos anyways!).   I'm relieved to say that there was no "ugly cry" or blubbering because I didn't want my mascara to run (I waited until I was alone in the house, after she left for her grad party, to have a good cry before falling asleep...pathetic, I know!), however, my eyes did tear up but I remained "in the moment" and "present" to see her walk across the stage, feeling so proud of my baby girl (she'll always be my baby!).  What a gift!  How did I get so lucky to be blessed with this child?  I truly felt like we were celebrating together along with the special people who helped us both along the way.   It was as if we all graduated that day! 

Of course, Graduation Day also reminded me of my graduation which was a mere 20 years ago (yikes!).   When I was in high school, you needed to complete Grade 13 to attend university so I was 19 years old when I started university but now high school graduates are only 18 years old (babies!) when they graduate (some only 17 depending on their birthday) because they have since eliminated Grade 13.   It really seems like just yesterday that I graduated so it blows my mind to think that this photo was taken 20 years ago of my best friends and me posing (so sexy...I know!) after the graduation ceremony (I've lost touch with these two best friends, as so many people do after high school, therefore I'm not able to ask them if it's okay to post a photo of them on my blog so I decided to "hide" their faces and unlike me, they had their eyes open!):



Looking at that photo reminds me of my favourite song from the summer of ’91… “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince:

In 20 years, I wonder what song Sarah will remember as the song of “Summer of 2011”?  Well, my guess is....wait for it....Pitbull's "Give me everything" feat. Ne-Yo (let's re-read this post in 2031 to see if I'm right):

Since I said so much about Sarah in my blog post “When I grow up”, I think I’ll keep this one
short and simple by saying:

I’m so proud of you Sarah!!! 
 I love you sweetie!
ConGRADulations :)

I wonder if Sarah will spend as much time with me this summer as I did, with my parents, the summer before I left for university.   I guess it’s true:  payback is a bitch :P

I know it’s already listed in my blog post “When I grow up” but it doesn’t hurt to repeat my wish for Sarah as words of wisdom for all of us:

“That you open your heart and your mind to possibilities that you have not dreamed of and to realms of joy you have hardly imagined;
That you live fully and love deeply;
That you breathe and smile;
That you relax, enjoy, laugh and play;
That you let go, forgive and accept;
That you find meaningful work so you can serve and contribute;
That you listen, learn and inquire;
That you consider and reflect;
That you cultivate contentment, friendship and flexibility;
That you lighten up, expand, evolve, open up and include;
That you dream;
That you celebrate, appreciate and give thanks;
That you share, give and receive;
That you walk softly and live gently;
That you surrender and trust;
That you continue to be free to live, to soar, to create, to love, to feel passion for good, and to do the good with passion.”

In other words...I hope you “climb every mountain” and “I hope you dance”…

"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
~ Henry David Thoreau