You will read here often about how ideas can be hard to come by for writing.  Such is not really the case this evening.  However, you should be warned that tonight will talk about graduation.  This may not excite you nearly as much as it does me.  Just also know that there is no way for me to convey all of the emotions of this past week.  My best efforts will fall sadly short.  You cannot watch your oldest child walk across that stage without being caught in a wild mix of emotions.  That is just my opinion but it rings true for me.  Having a daughter be valedictorian is fairly amazing in itself.  Such an achievement was never a requirement from me.  I am just humble yet very proud of her honor. 

A dad realizes just how hard the day will be when watching the senior slide show.  You see all of the photos of kids you know as they grow through the years.  Other parents around you experience the same tug at the heart as you.  I was fortunate to know many in her class through the years.  Some played on various teams when I was coaching.  Some come through the house for one reason or the other.  Some just cross paths as you move along in the journey.  Each one means something to you.  They are more than names on a program or in a slide show.  Every name carries a story that defines their life.  All of them have a future and a hope under God that can be theirs for the taking. 

Family comes and goes as the hours move along.  We were fortunate that so many made the trip to share the occasion.  You normally deal with one side of the family or the other.  Graduation is a day for mixing of all sides of family.  Friends also stopped by at one time or the other.  It is a great time to enjoy all of the togetherness in a celebration.  Hugs and even tears continue to be shared during this time.  There is an element of this being bittersweet.  Odds are good that such a gathering will be seldom and few over time.  You find there are moments when fatigue catches up with you so you are ready for it to end.  But you also want to soak in every relationship.  You do want to save time in a bottle no matter how impossible it is.

I could not ask for better from this experience.  You hear God talk to you as you prepare and as you go through the process.  My one hope remains that I did everything possible to be a dad.  You get out of it exactly what you put into it.  Doing this without divine aid is not even a consideration.  You can only be a good parent if you are willing to grow as a person.  You cannot truly mature without God's presence.  It is surely impossible to help a child grow if you cannot do the same.  Graduation is over.  Life continues.  Not everyday will be quite as eventful.  But each day will still matter.

Bro. Trey