Graduation again already!?

This picture is amazing. I took a picture of Josh just as he was shaking hands with Tommy Hay and accross the way the French Teacher at the Junior High...can't remember his name off hand....he was taking a pic of Josh with his telephoto lens....whom he didn't even know.....at the same instant. When he showed me his pictures I told him that was my son. He couldn't believe it either as he was just snapping random shots trying out his new long lens.....crazy!

Well, I didn't think I would do it but I decided to go to the Ruston High School graduation last night. There are always students I just loved and I want to see them graduate.... also some of them will give speeches and it is always interesting to hear what they come up with. Of course it always sorta reminds me of when Josh graduated. It was a great evening.....after graduation was the party at the Civic Center and it was a lot of fun....lots of games, prizes, and just goofing around. I got home about 2 AM and had to get up for school that next morning. It was worth it though.

The only reason I hate going to graduation is the yelling and screaming done by some of the family and friends of the graduates. I am sorry...and maybe I am an old fuddey duddy, but I just believe it is a solmn rite of passage and we need to act with some dignity. It is sad that some parents never hear their child's name read because of the prolonges yelling of folks.

Back home our graduation is still taking place in the high school auditorium and there are fewer graduates so people tend to be quiet. Screaming out just isn't done.....so when my parents came for Josh's high school graduation they were stunned and rather appalled to say the least and they still mention it whenever the subject of graduation comes up. They have gone to my neices graduation in Hermitage, PA and I guess it was respectable because I haven't heard them going on about ...."I just couldn't believe it" .....and "you should have heard". I had been to other graduations before Josh's so I knew what was coming....but call me stupid cuz each year I sorta believe people will have some how come to the realization that it is just plain rude. It also always seems curious to me the students who have all the awards...well, nobody hollers for them, but the lower the student ranks in the class the louder their cheering section. I guess there is an axim or a formula governing all of that.

Yet, I was glad to be there and see these students enter into the "real" world. I prayed as I sat there for all of them...for their safety, for them to find their way and for them to find the Lord. I know they are all hoping for success and to be able to make a way for themselves, but without the knowledge of their salvation they will always be looking....and looking. They may not even realize they are looking for something, but that is the human state...to be trying to fill that hole so they can be whole.

I didn't hang around to chat.....but I snuck out as the last child got her diploma and left before the families gathered outside for pics. I just want to see them one more time for myself and recall the impact they had on me. So many of the kids leave a mark of some sort....they make you smile, cry, think......all in all they make me take stock of what we educators are doing and reflect on the influence we have on these kids. It is scary when you really sit and think how much depends on them getting a good start. While we are teaching them many skills, it is important to realize they are so much more. That is where praying and just loving comes in and maybe when we look back from our home in eternity that will be the real work we were appointed to do.

Tonight a bunch of us from school met at Sundown for dinner on the patio. It was the second annual gathering of this kind. We don't stay to late and it is always fun and just a time to sorta say good bye to each other before we start all over in the fall. Sometimes I forget how good the teachers I work with are. I am always in awe of their energy and dedication. They work really hard and are always looking for ideas and better ways to get their subject matter accross to their students.

Tomorrow is the last full day of school and I have a lot of stuff I want to get done...orders to do and computer work to catch up on. There will be a party for Beverly Johnson Beasley in the library at 2 pm so I will have to clean and dust before we set up around noon. She is retiring and I know she is happy about that. She is a great special education teacher and we will miss her. I know she is going to enjoy herself.

Jeananne...my long time neighbor is going to the sixth grade and Allisa is going to the High School...heavy sigh. I hate saying goodbye!!!