Graduation. The day we have been counting down to. Not out loud, of course, and not willingly. But our hearts and minds were always keeping tabs on where we were in the count down.
Then all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, ready or not, graduation day is here.
And it was AMAZING.
First, let me just say, because I almost can't believe it, that Sam and I got the best seats in the house.
We arrived to the high school at 5:45. People were already lined up outside the main doors. The doors opened at 6, and everyone ran in. We sat in the left bleachers, middle-ish area, close to the front, exactly where Anthony said to sit. He was to sit in the front row on that left side of the podium, and also to play a song with his senior jazz band buddies during the ceremony on that side. So that's where we went with the grandparents and kiddos. But then.....Sam and I kept looking at these empty seats in the front row on the floor. Seats that didn't have any type of reserve paper on them. I had him go ask a friend from the school we knew and trusted if they were open for the taking. And they were! So up he and I jump to snag these seats, and that was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I have ever made. It changed the whole vibe, the whole atmosphere, and our whole experience.
It was magical. I felt so lucky. So grateful. We got to sit front row, directly in front of Anthony, no more than 15 feet away. A divine gift, given to us from the Universe. Nothing could have been better than sitting 15 feet away from your son, connecting with him the entire ceremony. Giving thumbs ups and smiles of pride and encouragement. I truly couldn't have asked for more.
The graduation ceremony started with a slideshow of the graduates while we waited for them to walk in. Each graduate could have anywhere from 1-5 photos celebrating their life up until this moment. I might be biased, of course, but I do believe the photos we chose for Anthony were among the best!
I didn't take a video of the whole class's slideshow, but I did get Anthony's.
Once the slideshow was complete, the graduates walked out. Anthony's walking partner was his best friend, Owen, and I am just so pleased about that! My friend Mary, Owen's Mama, was also sitting on the floor, but more towards the walking isle, so she was able to get a photo of the boys walking in. There was also a professional photographer there, and she took a lot of photos that I was able to download from online, so this post is a mixture of my photos and her photos!
Once all the graduates were out and seated, the ceremony began. The principle talked for a while, and then the salutatorian did a speech, then the 3 (yes...3) valedictorians had a speech. I must admit, I listened to the speeches, but I couldn't tell you what they said. Smiling at my sweet boy and giving him all of my attention felt far more important.
After the speeches, scholarships were read off.
Anthony and I worked very hard on scholarships this past Spring, both online and the local ones. If you knew you had won some scholarships or grants, you were to tell the counselor so that they could be read off at graduation. But no one knew who won the local scholarships, so everyone was sitting on pins and needles. Kids' names were called, they were asked to stand, and the scholarships they won and amount they came to were read off. At one point, we were past the H's, so I thought Anthony just hadn't won any. But then I realized they weren't going in alphabetical order, they were going in winning amounts. And then, just as I realized this, Anthony's name was called and he stood up.
Anthony won over $19,000 in scholarships!! Proud is an understatement. We knew about $5,000 worth, because one was a WA grant and another was a small CWU scholarship, but the remaining $14,000 are coming from the local ones, which we were just finding out he won. I SO WISH I had thought fast enough to take a video, because at this point I can't remember which ones they said he won, nor the amounts for each. But we will get that information next week I hope. In any case, you probably wouldn't have been able to hear the speaker read off the scholarships anyway, as I was screaming the entire time, haha.
It's also the only time during the whole evening that I cried. So I'll take that as a win.
After all of the graduate's scholarships were named off, the seniors of the jazz band got up for a performance, which included Anthony. Right in front of us! He even did a solo, for the very first time in his jazz band career. We are so very proud of him! It was a special moment to watch these boys who have played together in jazz band for 6 years. It was a spectacular performance.
Then finally, diploma time. Senior by senior, row by row, each name was called. We cheered for Anthony, and cheered for all of his friends. So many faces we have watched grow up. So many faces we love. The pride felt all around the room was indescribable.
Once each graduate walked across the stage to get their diploma, it was time for the changing of the tassel and cap throwing!
After the ceremony was complete, the graduates walked out and met us all on the front lawn of the high school. It was pretty chaotic. Just a sea of people everywhere you looked. It took a while for us to find Anthony, and even longer to wrangle up all of his friends for photos, but we did it, and I'm so glad we did because the photos are priceless.
Our baby has graduated, and we couldn't be more proud.
We made it through. And now we look towards the future.
Congratulations, Anthony. We love you as deep and endless as the Universe.
With love,
Mama Hauck
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