Graduation season is upon us. By the end of May thousands of metro Atlanta high school students will be wrapping up their journey toward adulthood. In Gwinnett County alone, approximately 10,000 students will move their tassels to the left next month.
In the weeks preceding the pomp and circumstance there will be senior prom nights, graduation parties, final exams and college deposits to be mailed.
Every year around this time I listen to parents facing the emotional turmoil of knowing their once precious, tiny child is about to leave the nest. Many dads make jokes about finally getting their offspring out the door and perhaps soon off the payroll, while countless moms lament the loss they know is inevitable.
Female types like us are very good at envisioning that moment when we have to finally leave our babies with a group of strangers, with Lord knows what horrific social habits, on the dorm steps. We know with certainty tears will flow.
We begin early trying to prepare our hearts and minds for this transition.
Whether the pathos we conjure results from hormonal instinct or sheer exhaustion from years of soccer practice and ballet rehearsals, we feel it early and for all the many months leading up to graduation. We talk about it endlessly as it consumes our spirit.
I’ve been no less guilty than my friends when expressing sadness my time needed for everything from boo boo maintenance to last minute class project savior is rapidly approaching an end.
We summon these feelings again with greater trepidation when our children approach college graduation and again when they venture into the promise and uncertainties of marriage.
But perhaps at the edge of each precipice we need to stop for a moment and contemplate the alternatives.
Not graduating from high school may mean the child has chosen a different path, or perhaps is not mentally or academically capable of attaining their diploma. Sometimes the child contracts an illness that prevents this milestone of achievement. Worse yet, there is an accident resulting in profound injury or death.
High school graduation and other milestones are hopefully a time of joy and celebration. You won’t be able to stop me from reflecting back on precious memories and wishing my children still looked to me for their every need. I do hope I will “guard those moments in my heart.” But I also hope my words will represent the thrill and gratitude I feel to see my child move forward.
Let’s hope and pray each and every one of our high school students successfully navigates their way to graduation safe, healthy and happy.
Karen Huppertz has lived in Gwinnett County for 14 years. Reach her at karenhuppertz@gmail.com
