C's 8th Grade Graduation

Tonight was C's graduation and awards ceremony... I was exhausted from the last few days but C and her mother invited us to the graduation and I told them I'd be there even though my husband was out of town. The ceremony started at 7:00.... and the air-conditioning unit in the auditorium kicked off at 7:30. Wonderful. It was 89 degrees outside the building, and it quickly got up to 129 degrees inside the building.

The speeches were long... and we were sitting on wooden bleachers made for 14-year-old students. I could hear the parents around me, comparing the graduation ceremony to The Oscars.... "will this never end?" The orchestra (all students) was wonderful, however. They played some of the music from "The Phantom of The Opera" and it was absolutely beautiful. The audience gave the musicians a standing ovation... partly for the breath-taking music, partly because we needed to get our blood circulating again after scrunching up our bodies for so long on those wooden bleachers.

The principal called up every student by name, and of course, C's mom and I clapped the loudest for C. She even earned some special awards, which made us very proud. I got tears in my eyes when the principal handed C her diploma, but I promised C that I wouldn't cry, and I kept my word.

Every time I look at C, it just seems impossible that I've known this little girl since she was in the second grade. Amazing how fate can toss people into your life. A simple volunteer job as a reading tutor resulted in having this extraordinary young girl in our lives. Makes my eyes puddle up just thinking about it. I say it all the time, and I'll say it again--- I couldn't love C any more if she were my own child. I was very proud of her tonight.