Our Graduate

We had a terrific day. I'm glad it's over.


Seen here in all his his his cap and gowned glory and clearly wishing we'd just get this taking picture thing over with.

He was one of about a half a dozen kids who were asked to perform for the graduating ceremonies. This is my favorite picture That's his gramps' guitar; the pick-up in his own has developed a short and needs to be replaced.


This is my Mom (Grammy) and Stepfather (Gramps). I think they cheered louder than anyone else in the audience when he walked across the stage. My mom made Jeremiah a scrap book chronicling his nineteen years in photos and notes, even including a copy the certificate they hung over on the door at the hospital where he was born. To my surprise, he stopped everything and looked through the whole thing right there in the parking lot of the high school, often sounding faintly choked up as he murmured, "I remember that . . ."


Jeremiah and Gary's Mom aka Oma. Oma arrived, dressed to the nines as usual, snapping pictures right and left and cheering him on. She gave him a card containing enough money to put toward the laptop he's going to need for college. He was deeply grateful.




Here he is--all done, relieved and apprehensive about the future for perhaps the first time in his life.

His brothers like to call this the "Harry Potter" shot. Actually Joseph, my red-haired fourteen year old, said, "He looks like Harry Potter plus fifty pounds". Joseph is going to have to learn to run faster if he's going to make jokes at the expense of people who are bigger than he is.

Though it was hugely exciting, I, for one, am glad that this event has passed. Now we can get on with every day life again.

I'll have a year off from the high school madness and then it will be Joseph's turn. In case you've missed it, Joseph is a brilliant kid (his favorite "toy" is his microscope), but very different than his more reserved older brothers. Think "life of the party" think "ladies' man" think "fastest wit in the west". God help us all.