On Thursday, May 24th, our sweet friend and favorite baby-sitter, Emily, graduated from Oxford High School with honors. We took the whole crew to the graduation, and we survived. It was interesting to watch, as I hadn't been to a high school graduation since...possibly my own, no kidding. My graduation was in Freedom Hall, which is like the BJCC, so to be sitting on concrete bleachers in a football stadium was quite a contrast. Jaggar, having no prior graduation experience, was also unimpressed because he immediately said, 'This isn't even a chair! I'm sitting on the ground!" :) I remembered the feelings I had right before and after I graduated. It wasn't just an "I'm free!" type deal but more, "I'm free?!" Because until then, I HAD to go to school. Now, no one really cared what I did or didn't do. I could work. I could go to school. I could be homeless for all anyone cared. But it was all my choice, and that was a bit scary. I wondered if any of the graduates could comprehend that. It was funny because at that point, graduating IS the biggest thing they'd done, but as I've been out of high school for almost 12 years, it's really small. That's not to lessen their accomplishment because it IS definitely one, especially in this day where some girls have more kids than I do by the time they SHOULD graduate. As I listened to the principal call out the hundreds of names in a sing song fashion "Emily Ann Schaefer," I said my own kids' names "Sage Alexandra Spence" "Jaggar Cruiz Spence" "Costner Bleu Spence..." and Sage joined me grinning. I imagined where they'd sit, what they'd look like and sound like, and if it would even be from here...and then I stopped. Because I don't want that to be here any time soon...and yet, it will before I know it.
At one point, Jaggar spotted these balloons going up. I thought someone had just lost their grip, but then I realized as more and more sets flew away, that parents were letting them go after their kids' names were called. Talk about emotional for me!
Emily getting her diploma. Congrats to her!
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