Last night........indescribable. I watched my sweet Bo walk down the aisle as a high school graduate. It was surreal. I didn't cry because I couldn't. Each set of parents (in a graduating class of forty) had the privilege of handing their graduate the diploma he or she had earned, and then giving a sixty-second blessing. I had to stay focused and not look like a wreck when all I really wanted was to sit and have a good, heart-felt cry.
But here she is walking toward us:
The Wild Man with Bo:
And another one just because it shows her cute shoes and my cute kids - oh be still my heart!
The proud and happy family - The Wild Man, Me, Bo, and Grizzly
Bo and TWM have been privileged to be part of an incredible homeschool choir through Peoples School of Creative Arts at Peoples Church in Fresno. The choir has over 250 homeschooled kids from K-12. The High school portion is called Concert Choir and Bo is also part of Girls' Ensemble. In the photo below, some of the graduating seniors (who were in the choir) perform. When I can figure out how to get this off of my video camera I will upload it. They're amazing. I wish you could hear them now.
And this shows the size of the whole graduating class: (There were about 1,000 people in attendance.)
It was the most marvelous experience for me to witness this event. Many of you know I left home at 15 and, though I tried to forge ahead, my life was so topsy-turvy I left school in my junior year. I never went to a prom or wore a pretty gown. I missed high school dances and senior events. Senior trip was something I heard about through a few friends but never experienced. I didn't graduate until my early 20's and only then because I wanted to start college. So, if I tell you this was a thrill, believe me. My heart was intensely delighted (as well as healed) to watch my daughter do all these things, and more. To see her standing there in her cap and gown last night was a full-circle experience. This time, with God's goodness and graciousness, it came out right. We broke the cycle of failure and dysfunction and crossed the finish line, with the honor of a full ride academic scholarship. I'm still shaking my head in wonder.
I don't think I fully grasped the magnitude of the whole thing until I sat down to tell you about it this late night. I looked down the long road when I was pregnant for her. I saw the finish line and knew what I wanted even then, but I couldn't fully grasp how it would feel or who she would be, or who I would be, for that matter. I think I could sum up much of my life by saying I have failed forward. But this is full circle. This is thriving. This, THIS, is a happy ending. She is not her mother's child. She is SO much more.
Thanks for loving us and walking with us on our journey.
Copyright 2009
