A New Beginning....

Let me set the scene: bright skies which eased into a cool, starlit night; a stadium filled with friends and family; seniors clothed in cap and gown; cameras ready and waiting.

Yes, graduation day finally arrived.

Just a few hours earlier, as I scurried around trying to get dinner ordered (for those staying behind), a frozen pizza made (for those leaving), clothes ironed, and nerves settled, Katie headed out the door to her final night as a high school student.



Friends arrived to hang with the girls, so we headed on out with a complaining boy. Why do I have to go? I don’t want to….



Well, he came but did not sit with us. And, trying to track him down later for pictures was a nightmare. But I’ll refrain from commenting on that, well, right now anyhow.

As luck would have it, we ended up sitting right near Catlan’s family. Perfect! Whatever pictures I didn’t get, perhaps Tracy did and vice versa.

After some superb and not so much speeches, graduation commenced. We were very impressed at how quickly the entire thing seemed to move. Wow. Now, I could have done without the air horns and other stuff but hey, this is the south.

Cat graduated before Katie. He received his diploma from a school board member who is a former Atlanta Braves player. Cool, huh?



And then Katie. Yep, how could she liven things up? Well, red sandals instead of white is a start. And then, all the way to the podium, what does she do? Talk. Yep, the whole way.




And on the way back to her seat.



We giggled the whole time. It didn’t occur to me to be teary eyed. Yeah for me!

The students were supposed to recess in nice lines. Well, the first three rows of students did that, but the rest? They did a mass free for all exit to the goal post.



Once all present, the music blared, and they tossed their caps. I, of course, missed that shot. Bummer. I also lost Katie in the midst of the chaos.



How do you find your kid in the mass of people swarming the field? Easy. You look for the tallest person on the field. I knew she’d be with Cat so it was just a matter of finding him. But that even took a while. Whew.



It is amazing that in the unreal mass of people, you can actually find your friends. Here are Nat and Tori with Katie…..all future college roommates. (note: Tori graduated earlier from another school within the metro area)



I shall spare you all the friend pictures. Trust me, it’s a good thing!

Then the mom “obligatory” pictures started. I had warned them at Baccalaureate that graduation would be worse…..don’t think they listened.






And in the midst of the chaos, I see this…



a very pensive look. I think she was overcome with the emotions of the night. She has been with some of these kids since first grade. Tears means she truly has had wonderful friends at school and knows that those times are over. A hard thing to accept.

Picture time over, we headed on out. Katie and Catlan headed to pick up their actual diplomas…..and I just happened to be stalking following them.



I will leave you with this picture. My favorite of the night. When my baby was so emotional, I look up to see this……



She has grown up and is no longer just my baby.