Looking back and forward.....

Well here we are.....it's Tuesday already the 3rd of April. I was just chatting with my niece online and her eldest daughter my great niece graduates from high school this year. Yes next month....where has the year gone. It was just this time last year I was helping my middle daughter get ready for her graduation. Gosh how time flies.

Do you remember your graduation? I remember mine....unfortunately. You hear about all those wonderful stories about how much fun people had in high school all the friends they made and all the things they did. High school is such a blur to me. School was never easy for me. Suffering from dyslexia everything was a challenge. I didn't know that I was dyslexic until my third daughter was diagnosed and then it all came in place. I digress. School wasn't easy and to complicated matters I went to 3 different high schools and hence never really made any great connections.

It's funny how life makes full circles, the folks I graduated with were kids I used to play against in school tournaments. Needless to say when I came to their school I was really the outsider. Then there was the distance. I use to have to take 3 city buses to get to my school....it would take at least 1 1/2 hrs. to travel by bus to school. So other than sports I tended not to do a whole lot near my school. Which was a disadvantage, as everyone else who went to the school lived either within walking distance or a 10 min drive and were able to hang out together.

Anyhow.....graduation arrived. Yes and by the time I graduated I had made friends....but because I was a year older than most in my class I didn't date any of the boys from school. At time of graduation I was seeing this "older" boy....I had asked him if he would like to go to my dinner dance with me he agreed. He told me he had to be out of town for a little while but that he would be back in plenty of time. The week of my dinner dance I called him....no answer. Two days, one day no contact. My Home Economic teacher heard that I didn't have a date....she asked one of the forgein students if he would be my escort. I was so embarrassed. But you know he was the most polite and kindest person. He got me this lovely wrist corsage, picked me up and took me to the dinner/dance. My brother and I graduated together and we had the after grad party at our house....this nice guy brought me home stayed for awhile and then was on his way.

Our dinner/dance was in May with graduations ceremonies in June. I can't believe it will be 27 years this year since I graduated from high school. They don't call them graduations ceremonies anymore. They call them Commencement Ceremonies. The rationale I am told is that the results of the provincial exams are not known until the fall, and of course graduation is suppose to happen in June. Also, regardless of the results of the provincial exams some students would not graduate anyways, but by having the "Commencement Ceremonies" everyone gets to participate.
Here's a picture of my mom and I. Parents of course were invited to the dinner dance.

I look at this photo and wonder what was going through my head. The world was my oyster. I had no idea what would lay before me.