A Light for My Path

This past week we had a family celebration for my oldest granddaughter’s 8^th grade graduation. Now, to be honest, I think it’s a little silly for schools to have preschool, Kindergarten, or 8^th grade graduation ceremonies. Not that these milestones aren’t important to the students. I remember being excited about going to high school. But, I think wearing graduation gowns and receiving diplomas shouldn’t start until the completion of high school, not the beginning.

Still, the grandkids’ school has an 8^th grade awards function, a special Mass, and a graduation ceremony including diplomas and speeches by teachers and students. Then on the following day, it has another awards ceremony and another special Mass for the K-7^th graders. Seems like a lot, but it’s important to the kids, and our grands wanted us to be there for all of it. So, we were.

In the past, my husband didn’t attend every child-related function that rolled around. He’s always been there for the major holidays, significant birthdays, and big events. But, amusement parks, pool parties, kiddie concerts, and other events that involve a lot of screaming, running around, and sticky food items weren’t really his thing. Neither were back-to-back church services. And, they still aren’t. But, now he goes to most of them. When I tell him it’s okay if he doesn’t want to go, he usually will reply, “well, it’s family, so it’s important.”

And, even though he doesn’t acknowledge this directly, I know it’s because we both realize now just how precious time is. We celebrate milestones, big and small, because you just never know . . .

We certainly never imagined that our younger daughter’s wedding would be the last event we celebrated with her. 

That’s doesn’t mean though that we approach each event with dread or a doomsday attitude. In fact, without either of us stating this out loud, I have noticed that we both look for the joy in celebrations, get-togethers, milestones big and small. We accept more invitations, whether to a major event or an impromptu Thursday evening bonfire and happy hour. A child’s loud birthday party can provide an opportunity to meet a parent who likes the same obscure singer you do. A Saturday brunch with neighbors can segue into an afternoon’s conversation with an old friend.

After a while, you realize that these celebrations, these get-togethers, these casual or in-depth conversations, these times spent together in a car driving home after a hectic weekend – these milestones — accumulate into a lifetime. Go, do them, find the joy. You just never know.

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Laura