ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Graduation Day

Updated on August 21, 2015
Sallie Mullinger profile image

Sallie is a retired mother and grandmother who has written short stories for most of her life. Her stories are from her heart to yours.

Parents do everything they do to get to this day. Children begin to understand exactly what this thing called "life" is all about.

I no longer have children graduating from high school. A fact which alternately makes me happy, but also kinda sad.

There are reminders all over Facebook of what the month of June means, aside from Father's Day and SUMMER!

Mortarboards and tassels are everywhere!

I so remember, seriously like it was yesterday, when all 4 of mine "walked". Our eldest, Shannon, graduated a year after her brother, Scott, who is actually 3 years younger than Shannon. So Scott was the first for us. Way back in 1994. And then came Shannon in 1995....followed by Patrick in 1999 and finally our baby, Katie, in 2001.

And it still seems like yesterday that we watched as hundreds of black and gold Centerville HS robes marched into the Wright State Nutter Center to the strains of Pomp and Circumstance. And it still seems like yesterday that I reached for Mike's hand and squeezed it knowing that if we looked at each other, it would mean immediate tears.

This is the day parents and kids worked and waited for, for a long time. Its exciting and melancholy all in one big gulp of emotion.

I so well remember back to my own graduation in 1969. Such an array of emotions! I was happy, of course, to have made it and with honors, for those 4 years were a huge emotional struggle for me and for sure there were times I didn't know if I could hang on. I had lost my Dad 5 years earlier and nothing could have prepared me for the gut wrenching missing I felt as I walked thru that auditorium. I knew that my Aunt Sarah was there for me...because that was how she was....always there for me. And while my mother and I weren't close..I now know what must have been coursing thru her heart that night as I made my way across that stage. I think of her now as I remember how I, as a Mom, felt when my children graduated.

Every parent who stands up and cheers as their kid makes his/her way to the podium to receive that prized diploma, knows the feeling of pride, accomplishment and bittersweet awareness that your baby has now crossed over into that long road ahead known as adulthood complete with all the happiness, excitement and mysteries that it carries with it.

We only know that what is now standing before us, can't be the little darling who screamed bloody murder when it was time to take a bath, or refused to eat EVERYTHING or who fit perfectly curled up against you.

Who is this stranger...this assured, self-confident person ready to tackle the world?

You blinked, Mom and Dad, and warp speed carried you, and them, with it.

But oh what a great feeling to know that your combined efforts, got all of you to this point. Because it doesn't matter how hard it was, how many arguments there might have been, or how many tears were shed. Because all that matters, right now, as you stand and memories flash before you, is that this person, this child of yours, has gotten there and tears begin to sting your eyes.

Congratulations to all of the 2015 High School Graduates and their parents!

I can't wait to see my grandsons walk.

Pomp and Circumstance

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)