Just Like Yesterday

It's that time of year - graduation.




Holidays trigger so many emotions, but so do other events, i.e. graduation.
Some years memories float from afar, other times they are as close as yesterday.
Funny how that happens.


I loved having my little birds in the nest, and when it was time for them to fly away it was not easy.


(This year's graduation hit harder than in years past...but then again, how do I know that?
Sometimes it's like being in the movie, 50 First Dates...maybe I just don't remember.
Maybe I thought the same last year. Maybe it's hard every year....)


I remember the tears, the anticipation, and knowing it was the order of things.
We raise our children to grow and go - we know that day is going to come and yet,
when it does, it's difficult.



Even though it was hard for this mama bird, I was so proud of each one.
I enjoyed planning graduation parties...getting ready for the big day.
Those were the days....
Awards Night, Baccalaureate , Chapel, and then...


Graduation.
A stream of red and black caps and gowns marched into the gym, young faces
ready for new adventures in life.


Looking back -remembering -
I see the masking tape messages on the caps.
I see the group of boys who made it through that senior year.
I see the faces of those I watched grow up....birthday parties, lunches at our house,
programs, games, proms.


I remember Caleb's graduation.
His recruiter, Sgt. Wedgewood (a name I'll never forget) joined us in his dress blues.
We as a family wore t-shirts that said, "Proud of our Marine - Caleb Medley' ( yes, I'm that mom.)
It seems the band played the Marine Hymn.
I remember the announcer saying that Caleb was joining the Marines, and everyone gave him a round of applause.
I remember his graduation party -
My good friend Kathy and I went in together and had our sons' parties together - it was the only right thing to do for two boys who grew up together, just houses apart - you never knew what was going to happen when they got together - master minds of the unexpected.
I remember Caleb and Andy cutting the huge graduation cake, holding the knife together, cutting slices as if it was a wedding cake.
Hilarious -those two.
Those were the days.


Churches here always honor the graduating seniors.
I don't recall being in a service on graduation day in many years, well since my youngest graduated (I think I avoided being there that day, making room for visiting family perhaps.)
I didn't think about it being graduation Sunday this week.
 
I skimmed through the bulletin before the service started and saw the graduates names.
There was immediate flashback to Graduation Sundays past.
The graduates marched in wearing their gowns.
The sermon usually had something to do with the steps they were taking.
They were called to the front of the church, were prayed for, and given Bibles.


What brought the tears today?
One of the graduates honored at church is going into the Marines.
A flood of emotion came over my heart as I was transported back to 2005 - the announcement that Caleb was going to join the Marine Corps.


A short week after graduation Caleb rode away with his recruiter.




There are actually two seniors leaving for the Marine Corps in this small town. In a class of fifty-one (the number of pictures in the newspaper) that's 4% of their class.


I visited a little with the young recruit at church, congratulating him on his graduation and for wanting to be one of the Few, the Proud.
As I walked away
 I thought of my own son in 2005.
Caleb was ready. He was sure of the decision.
There was no turning back for him, and I knew that.
I had to admire him.
Many are unsure of the direction they will take.
Some know they are going to college or trade school.
That of course, will be a change - a step into the an unknown future.


But, those who are called to serve our country -
Well....
They sign a blank check payable to our country for an amount up to and including their very lives.
It is a huge commitment.


As a parent of a Marine, I knew that.
But, I've got to tell you, I didn't go down that wild road in my thoughts. You can't or you'll be miserable worrying about what hasn't happened.
As a Marine Mom, I can say with all my heart, I was/am proud of Caleb, and always will be.
As the recruiter said to us as we sat around our dining room table, "We don't just recruit your son, we recruit the whole family."


It is true. We entered a new way of life when Caleb left for boot camp. I know my perspective on the stuff of life changed - and continues to change.




To all the parents who watched as those tassels were put from one side of the mortars to the other,
"Congratulations."
I visited with some of my mom friends of graduates. 
I know it's tough letting go....these young men and women have been in your care for eighteen, nineteen years, and now suddenly they've graduated and are going into that unknown world of being an adult.
It's a transition, whether they are going to college, moving away to work, or joining the Marine Corps.




Heads up, moms.
I remember looking at other moms whose children were older than mine.
I thought, "Well, they've made it. I suppose I will, too."
It's true.
You do.


Our children go and grow - and so do we.
It's what we do.
And you know....
Our mom hearts will always carry our children with love and pride
bursting in our hearts.


There will be times when
these days will seem just like yesterday.




Memories...so close and yet so far away.