All Grown Up! I really wanna shout it out!

It seems impossible that Friday night I sat and watched as yet another niece graduated from high school. It seems like just yesterday she was born and we had a small, little baby to play with and make ridiculous cooing sounds to. And yet, here she is today, a young woman ready to set out on her own journey. How I remember that time in my life.

It was the time of life where you knew everything, and yet you were scared to death that you would make a wrong decision and end up a loser at your 5 year reunion. It was the time of life where anything seemed possible. Where you feel like you could be anything you wanted to be, and you knew, just knew, that you were on the road to greatness. You had no real idea what the world was like, nor did you care. You figured you'd learn as you go. You expected things to come somewhat easy to you, since they always did. You could feel the power of growth. That very moment you took the diploma (or cardboard plaque that was to hold your diploma) in your hand, you knew you were on your way.

I thought back to my graduation some 21 years ago and about how things have changed ever so slightly. My final years in high school were, I'm sure, unlike most high school years in a public school. Just about everyone in our class was moving on to college. There didn't seem to be an option really, it was just what your next step would be. Some didn't make it all the way through, some flew through and never looked back. But I remember thinking that finally, I was an adult. Turning 18 didn't make me feel like an adult, but somehow graduating from high school meant that I could now sit at the adult table at Thanksgiving or Christmas (I'd later realize the kids table was way more fun and would want to go back to it). I was confident that college would be fun and "easy", but at the same time I was moving from a 57 member class to a class of thousands. I worried about fitting in. When the reality was, no buddy really cared in college. You made your own group of friends and that was really all you cared about.

I'm proud of SportyNiece for graduating and making it through high school in a time when stability wasn't something you knew or expected. I can tell you though, you couldn't pay me enough to go back to high school these days. No way. No how. I'd never make it. SportyNiece's future is yet to be determined. She's thinking Army reserves, for potentially becoming a Nurse. I say go for it. What better way to get your education than to let the military pay for it. Granted I'm not all that happy of where she may be shipped off to, but military would be good for her.

The rest of the weekend was party central at BigBro's abode. Graduation party for SportyNiece on Saturday and Father's Day party on Sunday. I'm pooped. And all I did was attend these parties.