Jeff - Graduates!!!

I have never been a fan of any ceremony. I don't cry at weddings, I'd rather grieve in private, and I never wanted to go to my high school or college graduations. I went to my college graduation feeling miserable (I had bad morning sickness and my body just hurt). I hated standing in line with people that I did not know to shake the hand of someone who must have been famous for something, but darned if I know. Jeff, my parents, and his parents ganged up on me and let me know that I should do it. So I did it. I did not enjoy it at all, and still could have stayed home and missed the whole thing and been happier.

For some crazy reason, I thought that Jeff's graduation would be the same for me. It was totally different. Well, there were some similar traits - hard chairs, long waits, people I don't know, etc. But I was amazed at how important it was for Jeff to find me in the crowd. It floored me when I started bawling like a baby when I thought about what he and we had sacrificed for this. It shocked me when those talking discussed the importance of remembering what families had sacrificed for the graduates. I don't think there has ever been a prouder moment in my life than when my husband walked across the stage. Or a sadder one. I had not realized it until moments before he walked that it was every graduates "private cheering section" that clapped, shouted,etc when their graduate walked across the stage. I realized that it was only going to be me (and faculty) that were going to cheer for Jeff. To top that all off, I had to take a picture of it all, so how could I clap? I ended up just shouting while I tried to take pictures from too far away and with old batteries that were slow to recover. But it hit me that when we think of ourselves as an island, we rob not only ourselves, but also our family of special opportunities to support us. I realized that I never even invited my parents (Jeff's parents are out of the country right now). We decided not to invite our brother, sister and their spouses because we thought it was boring and they'd prefer not to go.

I think this has changed my attitude about why we celebrate things like this. Like most of our choices when it comes to family, it is not based on convenience or desire, it is based on support. It would have thrilled me to have any of our family (children, siblings, or parents) there with me yesterday, but that did not occur to me until after it was too late. I guess this is one of life's lessons that I will need to remember for the future.

All-in-all, he does look quite handsome in the graduation robes.