the happy-sads, part 2

is there something wrong with me that i didn’t cry at my daughter’s 6th grade graduation?



not when i was getting her ready in the morning.



not when i watched her walking in, tall and pretty.




not when she gave a reading during the ceremony.



when she stood, waiting her turn for her name to be called, i felt nervous. but i still didn’t cry.

valiant attempts at a family photo

not at the end, watching grandparents and friends and uncle and brother and sisters congratulate her.

another mother offered me some tissues. i almost took them…just because i didn’t want to seem weird. but, well, i didn’t need them.
 

finally…not too bad.

and definitely not much later, when daddy took her to her orthodontist appointment and i ran like a maniac getting her little surprise party ready.



there was yelling and screaming…but no crying.
(more on the party later)

it’s big—this graduating from elementary school. i still remember my own 6th grade graduation. but i feel like i’ve been slammed over and over again these last few months with the realization that my baby is growing up.
and this? just one more step. one more nail in the coffin of her childhood.

and i’m learning to embrace it with joy, and not with tears.

so i made it through today tear free—except of course at the very end.

the very end when i realized that my baby girl—through the pooled resources of her parents, herself, her uncle & aunt, and her grandparents—is now the proud owner of an (lightly used) ipad.
and i…(sniff, sniff)…am NOT.

now THAT is something to cry about.