My least favorite time of year
Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile know that my least favorite time of year isn’t any of the sweltering Arizona days that linger for months somewhere between 115 degrees and an all out inferno. No, although my dislike for the summer months is right up there with my dislike of war, famine, and ticks. (Or vampire spiders, as I call them). My least favorite time of the year is graduation.
It all started nine years ago when my oldest daughter graduated. Yes, I was happy for her. (Top five percent of her class and going to her first choice of universities) But the thing is, she moved out and only came back for short visits. It was like losing my best friend. It was like losing a chunk of my heart. I saw no reason to celebrate the event with cakes, or balloons, or anything else. Would you buy a special cake if you had a lung removed? No, no you wouldn’t because sane people don’t celebrate sad events.
Ever since then, I’ve had a severe loathing for graduation decorations and graduation time in general. I get sad and panicky even when I don’t have another child graduating–which didn’t happen again until three years ago when my oldest son graduated. I cried for a day–and he was staying home to go to community college.
So now it’s graduation time again. This is a big one. My twins are graduating. I have done a good job pretending it won’t happen. Every time I go to a store, I cover my eyes and walk through the aisles, shouting loudly, “La la la! I can’t see you! You don’t exist!”
(You can see my other blogs–and the cakes I think should be made for graduation–at the links below.)
My son recently did a comic strip for his school newspaper on graduation. I’m glad to see I’ve distilled a healthy dislike for the event.
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Nice comic 🙂 My kiddo is only three, so I can’t imagine him graduating, but i know it’ll be here soon enough.
You can prepare now by walking through the grocery aisles singing, “I can’t see you!” And as an added bonus, people will get out of your way quickly.
So with you on this one. First one graduates and then heads off on a mission in a few months, next one is just two years behind him. I love the comic strip, but pretty much everything makes me cry these days, including those stupid graduation balloons.
Exactly. Where are the grim reaper balloons?
Your son is very talented! My kids are still so far away from graduation (10 years) that I can pretend it won’t happen, but I know it will. Still, I’m glad you let your daughter go to BYU, because she’s awesome, and I wouldn’t have met her if you didn’t. 🙂
She is pretty awesome!
Yeah, I hate graduation as well! Now all my babies are gone! Well, almost.
How did we get so old? I’m sure I didn’t agree to this.
Thanks for donating a book to Betsy’s book launch! I’ll need to bookmark your blog for future reading. 🙂 Gotta run!
Betsy is awesome!
Love your site .
Thanks!
I agree with you about the time of the year…I am a native of Arizona and the heat has nothing to do with why I dislike the time of the year…I teach school and is that time changes too much. My son is attending college and is now a Sr. and I worry when it is all over where will he go…he is my best friend. The other statement is that the children I have taught all move on and it is harder to stay in touch with them.
Exactly. It feels like I’m losing a succession of best friends. Messy best friends, but still best friends.
Love that responsibility bear!!!
He’s hit me many times.
My mom is the same! She freaked out too, especially with her oldest. But I think that the marriage part really did her in…Now she swears she won’t let any of us go!
Your mom is wise.
Love the comic! Made me laugh. Thanks for sharing.