Graduation is a milestone for the family

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Spring is a time of milestones: Weddings, births and especially graduations. This weekend I took a little drive (about 16 hours round-trip) to see my daughter present her thesis project. The product of a year’s worth of work, it was quite a milestone in her life… and, really, in the life of the family as we’ve all been there to support her in the ways family members support one another through life’s challenges. Next weekend, she graduates. (Yes, that’s another 16-hour drive.) We’ve been through more than a dozen graduations for our two children, from preschool to high school, one college, one graduate school and finally this. And with this graduation, we’re probably done with the education milestones for a while. Whew!   Spring is a time of milestones: Weddings, births and especially graduations. This weekend I took a little drive (about 16 hours round-trip) to see my daughter present her thesis project. The product of a year’s worth of work, it was quite a milestone in her life… and, really, in the life of the family as we’ve all been there to support her in the ways family members support one another through life’s challenges. Next weekend, she graduates. (Yes, that’s another 16-hour drive.) We’ve been through more than a dozen graduations for our two children, from preschool to high school, one college, one graduate school and finally this. And with this graduation, we’re probably done with the education milestones for a while. Whew! For the last 20 plus years, our lives have centered around the children and moving them ahead through their formal education. And for longer than that, as parents, we’ve been an integral part of their lives. Learning never stops, of course, but soon both will be on their own – launching careers and their independence, perhaps in other cities. My grandmother once said that every birthday was cause for a celebration (and so, we all gathered as extended family to celebrate with her whenever we could). I would argue that all milestones are worth celebrating as a family. And so, I suppose, it’s appropriate that this graduation occurs on Mother’s Day weekend when the extended family will all gather together for the weekend. And on a weekend that centers mostly around her, my daughter has already asked what the three mothers want to do on that day after graduation – my mother, my sister, myself – with the daughters (my sister has a young daughter). I guess the boys can come along too! Usually, on Mother’s Day, we work in the yard, getting the gardens ready for planting. That tradition will have to wait for another weekend. (Please note, kids, you haven’t gotten out of it this year.) This Mother’s Day, we’re all about milestones. Oh, and driving, but I’m trying not to think about that part. I hope you are able to celebrate your own milestones with as much good health and happiness as I am. And if you have a photo or some news to share, send us an email so you can share your simchas with everyone else. We’d love to be there with you through your images.