Today, I write to you as the mom of a senior. I’ve launched two young adults into the world already so I didn’t anticipate this being as emotional as it is. Today I went to my daughter’s last pep rally. I can’t quite put my finger on the moment when it hit me, but it did. It was one of those moments where you feel like your looking at things from a distance. I watched as the football team entered the gym. People cheered and the band played. Here is the thing… I’ve known these kids their entire lives. For just a moment, I could see them dressed as football player “want to be’s” when they were in elementary school wearing costumes for halloween. I’ve watched them from the sidelines as those same dreams came true and I’ll watch those boys on the football field for the last time tonight.
Halloween was this week. It was both delightful and sobering to watch those “kids” be “kids” for the last time. As I looked around my living room, I saw a room full of overgrown “kids” laughing, eating and soaking up every last bit of childhood they could find. Funny how when you are in the thick of it, you can’t appreciate it but when the season is about to end, you are able to savor every last drop. I’m enjoying these seniors much more than I thought I would. Maybe it is because I’ve invested in them since the elementary days, maybe it is because they are little miracles beginning to emerge into their own dreams and futures. Maybe because I realize that in the blink of an eye, this thing called parenting will look much different. Until then, I’ll soak up every “last” and learn a little from them as well. If you look closely, you’ll see a determination and hope in their eyes that tells you of the courage they have inside of them. This courage is what will launch them into this great big world. They will become the doctors, the lawyers, the engineers, the writers, the scientists, the designers and musicians that will change the world. They are our future.
Be sure to cheer loudly as we savor these seniors. Let them know that you will be cheering them on until their cap is thrown in the air on graduation night.
