My Facebook page was full of graduation news this week — from high schools, colleges, kindergartens, pre-ks, elementaries, and middle schools, all the way up to graduate schools, family and friends celebrated the flying diplomas, caps, and tassels.
As I looked at all the photos of the proud parents and the even happier kids — hey, school is out for summer, after all — I traveled back over my own child’s magic moments, from pre-k step-up to kindergarten all the way through high school, which wasn’t that long ago, but seems like a century to me. And the one thing each event had in common besides the proud mom, was the amount of Kleenex I went through each time. However the two that win the “Most-Kleenex used in a single commencement” division were pre-k step-up and high school graduation.
Graduations, as a rule, are life-altering occasions — right up there with marriages, divorces, births, deaths, and moving out — but some more than others.
Stepping up out of pre-K meant no more toddler time, no more half-day, no more nap time, or sitting in the parent’s room, which was fun, and I made a lot of Kleenex crafts. Kindergarten was truly for the big girls and I just had to accept it. Stepping up meant on to first grade and beyond. The other was high school. Bri was truly going to be on her own; college away, empty-nest syndrome, and no more 10 pm curfews, or me driving all over to ferry her to friends, parties, and work.
Looking back, all those semesters in between pre-k and high school seemed to have occurred in the span of time it takes to blink an eye, although as I was living through it, all I could do was hold on from September to June and think, “When the heck is this term going to be over?” The tests, the projects, the tutors, oh my — but in the end, those semesters were over far too soon and I wish I could do just one more diorama, or science board again.
So my advice to all those parents (along with wishes of congratulations) is this — enjoy every moment from September to June, the graduations come far too quickly and last only a second. The time from pre-k step-up to the conferring of a baccalaureate degree speeds at warp-drive. And even though you may think you really don’t want to make one more diorama or one more science board, when school days are over, they are really over.
Not for Nuthin™, but I can’t wait for grandchildren so I can sit through all those graduations again.
Did I really just wish for that? Must be all that Kleenex in my eyes.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
Joanna DelBuono writes about national issues every Wednesday on BrooklynDaily.com. E-mail her at jdelbuono@cnglocal.com.
