This year our family hits an important milestone. One that as a Dad (Geek- or non-) you both love and hate. The day your first child graduates high school.
Graduation Cake Guy by Flickr user CarbonNYC, used under CC license.
We’re only a few days from the big day, and part of my absence from GeekDad the last couple weeks (besides an insane work schedule) is the preparations and stuff that goes on centering on graduation. There are relatives coming into town from far-off places, there will be a party, there is the actual ceremony (which we pray will have good weather – because if not, well, not even our entire immediate family will get enough tickets for the hastily-moved-from-the-football-field-to-the-gym ceremony that will take place).
With relatives coming to town and a party to be held, that also means lots of preparations around the house. Now all of a sudden the dings and marks on the walls need to be painted, the cleaning goes to the extra level of deep reserved for house showings in an attempt to sell, and we navigate the too many people wanting to stay in our house with not as many beds/air mattresses/places on the floor available.
And we haven’t even gotten to the point of preparing the food and such for the party… I’m tired thinking about it and would really like a nap, even though it’s not even seven in the morning as I write this.
For this GeekDad and GeekMom, however, it’s the realization that our family will be forever changed. One child that has been with us for eighteen years soon won’t be around as much, soon will be making more and more decisions on their own, and soon will be keeping us on our toes with new challenges. I’m thankful for the many, many ways of keeping in contact as the college is out of state… from texts to chat to Skype to phone calls; however, it’s not the same as connecting over dinner face-to-face or doing the stuff and traditions that help define our family.
We know that this one is ready to leave the nest and will be successful in the endeavors that come – in the meantime, we just have to get to graduation… and in the back of my mind I do know what this is really preparing us for.
Wedding planning…
Thankfully that’s a few years off, so in the meantime I ask our readers who have gone before us in this adventure: What words of wisdom do you offer for getting through the graduation season and adjusting to the changes that come with it? Please leave a comment.
