Open Letter To Parents With Graduates – Savor Those “Last” Moments

Schools across Western New York are getting ready to close down for the summer.  Which means a lot of "lasts" are about to happen.

Maybe it's their last time in elementary school.  It could be that it's their last time riding the bus because they'll be driving to school next year.  Did they have their last class with a teacher that they love (or hate)?  We have moments in life that are "the last time" something happens all the time.

Tons of parents are guilty of hoping for the next stage in their kids' lives.  "I can't wait until they can walk to school by themselves." "I can't wait until I don't have to bug my kid to do their homework and they just do it on their own."  "I can't wait until they get through puberty."

We end up wishing our kids' lives away.

I wish I knew who it was that shared this deep thought.  Someone pointed out that one day parents will hold their child for the last time and not even know it.  They set them down, and they never pick them up and hold them like that again.

It's a sad thought, but it's true.  And it makes you wonder whether it's better to know that it's your last time, or if it makes it easier to just not know.

That's the kicker with a child who is going to graduate from high school.  You've raised these kids and by the time they graduate, they're adults.  It often feels like they don't need you much anymore. They're about to move on and life will never be the same again.  You know it's coming.  You know it's part of life.  But it doesn't make it easier.

Today, my wife was trying to make a point that I was going to have one less thing on my daily list of things to do soon.  Our son is a senior and just about every day I've dropped him off at school before I go to work.  She said, "Just think, after tomorrow, you'll never have to drop him off again."

She meant for it to be a relief for me but even as it was leaving her lips, you could tell that it sunk in for both of us (again) that life was about to change.

We've been preparing for this.  We knew it was coming.  No more rehearsals.  No more practices.  No more rides for clubs or events.  We've already filled his lunch account for the last time.  We watched him take his last bow on stage.  He's about to graduate and there's no going back to do it all again.

I know this all sounds overly dramatic.  Yes, we will still have new things to plan for with our kids.  It's just the reality that as we come to the end of the school year it feels a little like we're setting them down one last time.  The only difference is that this time we're aware of it. So it makes you want to just hold on to them for a little while longer because you know it will never be like this again.