oliviatamccue

Graduation from High School is a once in a lifetime event.  This event is a milestone more felt by the parents than the students who have been more than ready for the ‘school is out’ moment.

On a sunny afternoon, I attended my daughter’s high school graduation. We arrived at the football stadium two hours before the ceremony, and got ourselves the fourth row of seating, a bit off the center on the right. It was a sunny and beautiful California Spring day.  Quite a few well-prepared parents have brought along umbrella and sunglasses; many invited relatives and friends to come along.  In a way, the social atmosphere of high school graduation differed from middle school graduation, where conversations were more within family and family friends than across family groups.  Parent involvements in school have faded as the kids moved on to high school; and our acquaintance, with teachers or other parents, was not as much as in the junior grades.

The stage set in front of the bench seats of a football field was nothing extraordinary; the choir and the orchestra added the expected musical elements.  The special moments were the much awaited entrance of the 400+ graduate students, in graduation caps and gowns.  As they took up the benches, the commencement began.  The rundown was dominated by the diploma presentation mixing in with a couple of graduate students’ speech.  The speech talked about we all matter in our own ways; and talked about the thankfulness in farewell.  We all wait for the name of our children, with reaction widely different – from shouting, screaming, roaring to bull-horning, or simply a hearty applause.

As the graduation caps were thrown in the air, we all squeezed into the crowd to seek our family reunion.  In picture time, it was impossible to avoid extra persons in the background.  Many desserts were on display at the refreshment tables, from brownies, macaroons, cupcakes, banana bread to different types of cookies.  The sugary booster was fitting for the graduate students as they got ready for a night-out.  The school bus would take them to a secret place and they would not be home until next morning. Is this also an experience for families to be ready for the many more nights ahead without the child sleeping under the same roof?

High school graduation marks a distinct transition towards independence and upcoming faraway venture.   It is a significant milestone as a parent, though there is no real retirement of parenthood.