Monday, June 8, 2009

Pomp and Circumstances

I was going to wait to make a post about graduation till after Papi developed his film, but considering this shot on his digital, and that it may well be 2010 before we see the other pictures, I'll just go with this. After 13 years of confusion, frustration, trying to pin down the buzzing bee standing on her head and running around while trying to do homework, after pretending to be done with assignments that weren't even started, after approximately 8120 hours spent daydreaming in class, or making googoo eyes at a hottie, after approximately 160 late nights with mom, trying to type up a paper, or finish a book or do an assignment or make a poster, after fights and tears and rolling eyes, and threats and consequences, after 7 million minutes of run downs of "he said, she said so I said," and another 4 million rants about teachers, after 13 IEP's and several e-mails, after thinking up 20o ways to motivate an un motivated student, after failures and triumphs galore, after tryouts and letdowns, and ah-ha! moments and approximately 714 calls to bring me this or that at school, after refusing to go or sleeping in and going to tardy make-up a bazillion times, after staying after school, after parties and dances and games, after finally reading a book all on her own, after sewing and cooking and mountain climbing and water sampling and reading some more, after ten million discussions on a million subjects and after 45 class changes or plan changes, FINALLY, FINALLY, it's over!!!!! No wonder moms cry at graduations! I was so glad we made it out only a little scarred but not destroyed, that it ended at a ceremony with a diploma and not in GED's, that it didn't involve drug rehab or juvenile hall or sitting in classes with her to make sure she'd stay, or suspensions or sneaking out at night or a psych ward or not even making it this far alive, like some of her classmates. I don't care that my daughter wasn't a valedictorian or homecoming queen. She grew and she learned in spite of it all. She stuck up for underdogs and helped people through with her. She hung onto her faith and her dreams and I'm VERY VERY proud of her!


Turns out the ceremony wasn't even that boring or too terribly overly long either. It was a great day.


One down, four to go!

9 comments:

Erinlizabeth said...

Yay! Congrats to both of you! ;-)

4boyzmdmom said...

Ok, I'm such a sap but I cried reading this post! (When I saw the picture of her with Juan, I had a flash back to the day she was born and he was proudly carrying her down the hall at the hospital! Wasn't that just the other day?!) You have been such a great, patient mom to go through all that with her and never give up. You hung in there and kept fighting for her and sticking up for her--good for you!!! I think you deserve that diploma, too! Great big huge Congratulations to Enigma for sticking it out, also!!!

Elizabeth said...

Congratulations! are due to all of you. Motivating the unmotivated is the most difficult thing there is. Good work, Mom, Dad and Daughter!!!

The Cranes said...

Congrats Enigma! Shellie, I hope in just three more short years, I can have a similar post on my blog. Great job on sticking it out. I know it's been quite a journey.

Jeanette said...

Whew! Glad it's over (for both of you).

Joanna said...

Congrats!! I think when your last one is done you are doing the happy dance.

caramama said...

Congrats to Enigma and to you!!! That's so exciting! And she's so beautiful!

Maria (also Bia) said...

This was a beautiful tribute to your daughter and you!

Suburban Correspondent said...

Amazing how good it feels, isn't it?