Today’s the day. In less than two hours, Eric graduates from high school. Susan’s youngest son is about to leave the nest. It’s a day that all of us as parents anticipate, but it’s also one that you can never adequately prepare for.
Over the past six weeks, our lives have been a frenzy of preparation in anticipation of this day. New furniture, several thousand dollars worth of remodeling and redecorating, and more than a few tears have gone into getting ready to celebrate Eric’s final compulsory rite of passage. Adam is home from Carbondale, IL, and all four of us are together again, which is an increasingly rare occasion.
I’m excited for Eric. In August, he leaves to attend the College of William and Mary in Virginia. After today, he will be doing things that he has chosen to do. No longer will he be someplace that he is required to be. Like all of us, he will discover that life is all about decisions and consequences…and I can’t wait to see what wonders life holds for him.
When I met Eric almost six years ago, he was quiet, shy 12-year-old boy who wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. The intervening years have seen him develop into a perceptive, articulate, and engaging young man who is honestly mature beyond his years. No one is harder on Eric than he is, and no one has a more powerful self-imposed moral compass.
It’s been a pleasure to watch him grow up, and though he is not my biological child, I couldn’t be more proud of him if he were my son. I may not be crying the tears that Susan will, but this will be a joyous and a sad day for me just the same. In less than three months, we will see Eric off to college. It’s the day that most parents simultaneously dream of and dread. You raise children to leave the nest and to be successful in their lives, but you never think that the day will actually come when they will leave. Well, today marks a formal recognition that that time is near.
Congratulations, Eric! I wish you all the best. I both love and admire the person you have become, and I cannot wait to see what life has in store for you. May your dreams take you as far as you wish for them to; you deserve nothing less.
My congratulations to Eric!
I'm sure that all of you will find your lives richer and more fulfilling than you could have imagined.
Way to go, ERIC!
Congratulations to you all, Northstar.
Having just seen my youngest son graduate high school and just celebrated the 15th anniversary of my wedding to his stepdad, I've had a lovely weekend. I look forward to it as marking the beginnings of better, although maybe not bigger, things for all of us. I have two boys studying for their bachelors' degrees now.
May the summer bring y'all companionship, relaxation, and opportunities to compare notes harmoniously.
Contrats Eric! If you heard some stray applause as you "walked" in the stadium yesterday, that was me.