I started this post yesterday morning before graduation, not knowing what I was feeling or what to expect. Now that it's all said and done, I don't feel very different and graduation was pretty much what I expected it to be. We wore caps and gowns. We sat alphabetically and had our names called. Even the speeches were everything I expected them to be. The whole process was drawn out and boring, but was I supposed to savor it or be annoyed at it's length? I couldn't really decide because the blow up pool floaty and sea horse were quite distracting. I had a surge of excitement when I was the next in line, waiting anxiously at the bottom of the creaky stairs when my name was about to be called, but as the ceremony continued it drained away. Don't get me wrong I am more than pleased with being forever done with high school, but I thought I would be ecstatic.

On my way to Kathryn's house after graduation I had a very peaceful moment though. It's really kind of lame and cheesy. It goes like this. I was driving alone in my car. My sun roof was open and my windows were all down and the breeze was warm and yielding so I put my left hand out of the car and let the wind pass through my fingers. My hair was blowing a tiny bit, enough so it didn't bother me or feel as if it it would snarl. I was on Salisbury Street passing by the Albanian Festival and there was a lot of traffic, so I was moving rather slow. The sun was golden and glistened through the trees fathering flickering shadows and reflections in the street. While waiting in the line of cars, I saw about twenty feet ahead of me an old man planting a flower. He must have been at least 80, and he wobbled his way out to his freshly cut lawn with this little blue watering can and a potting tool in his hands. He was smiling so big at his little plant and his yard and for some reason it hit me right then that I really do have my whole life ahead of me. I have so much left to experience and gain from. I mean, college in itself is huge, but then there's getting a job and supporting yourself and meeting and falling in love and raising a family. There are boundless opportunities and adventures to look forward to. I mean someday I'll be at my kid's graduation and I'll look back at this day with some type of trivial memory about high school. Then who knows maybe I'll become a grandparent. And I can't plant little red flowers in my garden and find so much joy.

ps. I just put my feet up on my computer table and saw the dinosaur Bryan drew on my foot with a speech bubble that says "I'm Back!" like the movie. I like it a lot. Then there is a weird face Alana drew which looks like a penguin with a pancake for a mouth. I wish they were real tattoos. Actually ... no.