Consider yourself warned!
A guide for those who think they want children.
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Well, it is official. I now am the proud mother of a high school graduate!
The celebration started Saturday evening. My brother flew in from California, and he and my parents (who live in Connecticut) arrived at our house to stay with us over the weekend to celebrate with us. Sunday morning, we all went to church together to watch my son participate in my church’s annual Graduation Emphasis Service. At that service, all graduates, from pre-school all the way up to graduate students are recognized and honored. The participants march in wearing their graduation gowns and stoles. After all the graduates are introduced, the high school students line up in front of the church, state their names, and then open their gowns to reveal what college they will be attending in the fall. You can just imagine the cheering that takes place. Afterwards, there’s a reception for the graduates’ family and friends. After church, we had a cookout at home. That was a time for me to thank my village that has been so instrumental in helping me raise my kids. My village consist of men and women of various ages and life experiences who have shared their wisdom and provided lots of guidance, advise, ears for me to vent, and shoulders for me to lean on. I am truly thankful for my village. I could not have done this without them. Monday was the actual graduation. For 3 hours, we sat through speeches, speeches, and more speeches. I am so thankful that the speeches were short. If they hadn’t been, the graduation ceremony could have easily lasted a few more hours. After the speeches was the time that we were all waiting patiently for, the distribution of diplomas! My son’s class had 1600 kids in it. Instead of calling the kids in alphabetical order, the class was subdivided by majors. Each major was announced, and the graduates were called up to receive their diplomas. My son’s major was Law and Society. So, we had to wait through all the other majors before getting to LAS. That was long and painful! When LAS was finally called, my son’s name was one of the last ones called. But, when we heard his name, we cheered him on as he walked across the stage. I was proud watching him. And, you all would be so proud of me, I didn’t cry. Although, I must admit, I did tear up during the processional. After that, we all met up at our predetermined rendezvous spot and took pictures. When I saw his father at the rendezvous spot, I reminded him that around this time 18 years ago, we were planning our son’s naming ceremony (his birthday was the 18th and his naming ceremony was held 7 days after his birth). Now, instead of celebrating his birth, we were celebrating his graduation. Those 18 years flew by! For those of you with young kids, cherish the time that you have with them. Don’t wish for when they are old enough to do certain things in the future. Once today is gone, you can’t get it back. Live in the moment. Soon enough, they will be graduating from high school and moving out and on to college. And then you’ll be wishing that you had you could turn back the hands of time. So, now you know, and you can … Consider Yourself Warned!
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Well, it is that time of year. Prom. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a high school prom, and apparently, some things have changed.
Initially, my son didn’t even want to go to his prom. He said, “Why bother, we can just go to the after parties?” I was appalled! Not go to the prom? Are you kidding me? I told him that he had to go. I didn’t want him to be a 50-year-old man regretting his decision not to go to his prom. This is the last big party that he will have as a high school kid. After this, its graduation and entry into the real world. Besides, I’m pretty sure his girlfriend wanted to go to the prom. So, after speaking with his girlfriend, my son realized that he was going to the prom. Next, came the Promposal. I have to admit. I had no clue what a Promposal was, he had to explain it to me. Now, just in case you are ignorant like me, a Promposal is when the boy makes a big ceremony of asking the girl to the prom. It’s almost like a staged wedding proposal, except its for the prom (side note, I realize there are various other relationships, but since I am speaking of my son, I will use the traditional boy/girl scenario). Apparently, the boy should to be as creative as he can be in setting the stage. Unfortunately for my son’s girlfriend, my son is not very creative. He had one good idea early on, but then they broke up for a brief minute and his Promposal idea didn’t happen. Then, when I asked him about it a few weeks ago, he said that he would just invite her over to our place and do the Promposal there. Dude. I don’t think so. I had to explain to him that I had the feeling that his girlfriend would want him to do something big at school where all her friends could see it. She needs to have something to brag about. Well, prom is this Saturday, and he still hasn’t done his Promposal yet. Now, I know kids like to stay out all night and party after the Prom, but when I was a teenager, you either spend the night at your friend’s house, your friends spent the night at your house, or everyone went to their own house and you saw them the following Monday. Not this generation. According to my son, he and his friends plan to rent an Airbnb, crash there after the after-prom parties, and all go out to breakfast the next morning. Wow, these kids really know how to live it up! At first, I wasn’t down with him spending the night at an Airbnb. First of all, the Airbnb they rented is in Brooklyn. You can come home and sleep for free. Secondly, I watch the news and can imagine all sorts of things that can go wrong. On the one hand, I had to give him credit. He did tell me about his plans. He could have just not come home until the next afternoon. On the other hand, I know that I have an overactive imagine and am still an overprotective mom. So, I spoke to his father about it. I knew that he would have a more realistic viewpoint. His father reminded me that our son will be 18 this month and will soon be off to college. We have to let him go. Intellectually, I know this. But emotionally, its hard for me to let him go. So, this Saturday, my son, his friends, and their girlfriends will be going to the prom, hanging out all night, staying in an Airbnb, and then going to breakfast the next morning. I have a feeling that I will not sleep well Saturday night. I may as well start planning which movies I will be watching. If you have kids approaching their teenage years, get ready. You’ll have to cut the strings soon. So, now you know, and you can … Consider Yourself Warned! If you have kids who went to their proms already, how late did you let them stay out? |
SassyGirlTye lives with her two wonderful teenagers in Brooklyn, New York. No matter what she says in her posts, she truly loves her children with all her heart.
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