Bursting With It...

I am, bursting with it, really. What is it? Pride. I'm bursting with pride. Our oldest daughter has officially graduated and earned her high school diploma. She didn't do it the traditional way but still she did it. Last night was her graduation ceremony and I sat there clapping loudly for her as she walked across the stage and accepted her diploma. When they had the graduates stand and face the audience and said "I now present you with the 2007 graduates" the clapping and cheering was deafening. My eyes were filled with tears as she smiled happily up at us.

She did it, we didn't have anything to do with it, this was all her. She's a spectacular girl.

There were a few poignant moments during the ceremony. The most moving was when a student who passed away just a month after earning his diploma was honored. They awarded his diploma, posthumously, to his mother. It was touching and heartwrenching all in one. I thought it was wonderful that they honored him in that way but I was sad for her loss. I'm still a little misty today just thinking about it.

It was funny, the guest speaker used a children's book as the focus of her speech. She used the sequel to The Little Engine That Could, I Knew You Could. The story talks about hills and valleys and how hard things may be but how good they can be too. It was ironic, she said something Master always says, without the bad we wouldn't know what good was. I hope LMR (Little Miss Raincloud, who isn't so rainy anymore) took some of that speech to heart, I know I did.

So here I am this morning, proud mother of a high school graduate. There were times I thought it was never going to happen. There were even times I thought I didn't care anymore because I was so frustrated with her. She's like water our LMR, she carves her own way where it looks like there is none instead of taking the well-travelled path.