PRISMS AND POLKA DOTS

This afternoon 4 to 8 is the first of two graduations to which we're invited this year.  Got a puppy sitter lined up.

High school graduation is a milestone.  It's where a mature teenager begins the path he/she wants to follow.  Will they continue on with college?  Will they choose a trade that may only require an associate's degree?  Some will focus on academic degrees, others may apprentice with experienced masters.  

It's a whole different row to hoe for today's young people than it was for us back in the 1960s.  Most of us who have our working years behind us find it easy to wish we'd done things differently.  Back then, a career was chosen for the long haul, while today it's normal to jump from job to job, switch careers midway, or simply decide not to contribute to society in any way whatsoever.  It's a brand new game without a set of rules.  

Graduation parties honor the graduates.  Parents rent places to hold these events and put on a meal for their family and friends.  Most every graduate has a party, so people hop and stop from one party to the other on the same day, at the same times.  There's usually a cake and lots of pictures from the graduates childhood up until graduation.  Some parents serve their kid's favorite food for the party.  Our great niece had the neatest party, and they served roasters of mac and cheese along with turkey and cheese wraps.  Others have served taco bars.  

I can remember when I graduated high school.  My parents invited my aunt and uncle over for lunch following the commencement ceremony at school.  That was it.  My parental present was a Lane cedar chest, which is in our main bedroom today.  Inside it are blankets and miscellaneous linen-like things that aren't used.  We've moved our Christmas Cactus in the bedroom, and it's sitting on top of the cedar chest.  Cedar chests were called Hope Chests, maybe because parents hoped some guy would come along and marry their daughter.  Who knows. 

 Each generation reinvents itself.  What works for one can't possibly work for the next one.  That's why change keeps happening, traditions change, leaving all things in the dust.  One thing I know for certainty, I would not want to go back and do life all over again.  The employment ethic that was implanted in me at birth made my life quite difficult and challenging.  Always had to work harder to be better, and that kind of daily routine is exhausting.  I always had to be on my A-game.  Oh, it paid off in the end, and I'm grateful for what I have today because of that kind of personal responsibility.  Like the two of us say, we made our way by ourselves.  I have given myself the label, "The one who got nothing."

It's a beautiful day for the graduation parties.  I'm sure all the parents are breathing sighs of relief to see sunshine instead of a downpour.  Some families will set up tables in their garages, others will hold the party indoors.  It's time to extend our best wishes to those starting their journey.  It's a big deal no matter how we slice it.