Graduation :: Let Me Tell You How Fast Time Goes By

Want to know how fast 13 years of school for your oldest child will feel?

Probably about as fast as you can flip through these pictures.

Seriously, it's THAT fast. CRY!

Advice for You :: I thought that waiting a week after graduation would take the sting out of writing this post, but I was wrong.

Something horrible has happened - I blinked and my sweet little girl has grown into a beautiful young woman. I feel like I've slept through it - how did this happen already?

Man, I love her!

Well, she did it. All of my denial and begging for her to just spend one more year in high school didn't help - she graduated.

I didn't cry at all leading up to the day. I didn't cry when she left for prom. I didn't cry when she shared her legacy video.

I didn't cry on her last day of school. I didn't cry when we got to graduation and girlfriend bolted before I could get a picture. 

But as soon as they hit play on Pomp and Circumstance the tears started and they haven't stopped. 

I looked down on her from my seat and remembered how I felt during the Fall of her eighth-grade year when the school has us plan the courses she would take in high school to prepare her for college. 

It seems I've lived in a constant state of whiplash since this girl turned five. Always asking, "How did this happen?". 

I am grateful for dear friends who snapped pictures of the Livestream and from their seats on the other side of the stadium because Shelby didn't give her cheering section a single wave of smile {time goes by, but some things never change!}. 

Speaking of cheering section, the actual graduation was much less stressful than I had planned. When 850+ kids graduate at one time it can be chaos, but It was good. We found great seats with an unobstructed view of our graduate. 

The crowd trickled in slowly which made getting my parents to our seats easier. Since my father is now on continuous oxygen he had a separate entry and had to take the elevator instead of the stairs. We were unsure if we would see them during the actual ceremony. 

My ex-husband was also able to find us and sat with us during the ceremony which was really good. Co-parenting {or our version on long distance co-parenting} is not always easy. I am glad he and Shelby's step-mother were able to be there.  

I found myself a little sad thinking about how when we took her to her first day of kindergarten we didn't see what was to come and how the day she graduated we would take separate pictures with her. God had many different plans for our lives and I am pretty happy with God's plan. 

I am pretty stinking proud of my girl! I look forward to seeing what life has planned for her. 

Shelby's final report card slid into my mailbox as I was finishing this post - now that's some mean timing! I'm off to find my box of tissues!