Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Eleven Days and Humble Thanks

My boy leaves for college in 11 days. He graduates from high school in two. I'd like to stop time, but I know that would only be for my benefit, not his. His face lights up these days at the thought of what lies ahead. I'm so proud of the man he's becoming.


Cole's graduation party was a big success! Lots of great food, friends and family. 


I think the highlight of the day for Cole was a surprise visit from the town ice cream man. There is only one ice cream truck in town, and all of the kids have known Slobie since they were little. It was a big hit, with everyone. Cole even got to spend some time in the truck.



My favorite part of the day came later when Cole, his uncle and his friends sat around the fire pit playing guitars and singing. He sang Rocky Mountain High, which gets me every time (more on that here). It was a memorable day.


Monday night was Baccalaureate. What a beautiful evening.  Great performances and great speakers.





Late Monday night, I was browsing through Twitter and saw a tweet from Cole. I typically hold my breath when reading Twitter, because Cole has been known to tweet some "heat of the moment" things that I'd love to leap into cyberspace and erase, but that night was different. He had tweeted out enormous praise to a girl at school that he barely knows. She had gotten up and read a long poem at Baccalaureate about some of the struggles she's had in high school and what it all meant going forward. My heart was full. 

And my heart if full of humble thanks this morning to Sarah at Clover Lane. I have a guest post today as part of her Coming Home series. You can read it here. Sarah's blog is my absolute favorite, and reading it gave me the courage to start my own. I was honored when she asked me to participate. Thank you, Sarah!

Denise



7 comments:

  1. Congratulations to your son...
    Such an exciting time for him.
    And bittersweet for his mama, I'm sure.
    I too, love Sarah's blog.
    She is one of the reasons I began my own too. : )
    Heading over now...
    And I love the cake!

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  2. Denise!
    Where do I start?
    I have been catching up with the very busy you!
    Like you, I am quite sentimental when it comes to songs and how they find their place in the chronicles of our lives.

    You are about ten years behind me...the merry mix of emotions when the nest begins to empty. I WISH that I knew about blogging back then! (I could have used a online support group :) . The good thing is that we were distracted with working our buns off to get through the college years!

    The tradition of Baccalaureate is only celebrated in the private schools and some churches where we live. It once was an organized, non denominational, non mandatory ceremony within the public school system, but diminished during the 90's. My children missed out on that lovely rite of passage...tradition...reflection.

    You have a beautiful family! I can't believe the short turnaround between your son's high school graduation and departure for college! I wish to congratulate him and offer best wishes as he transitions into his new life!

    I am sending you a BUG HUG as you and your husband transport Cole to his new home. The college years were joyous for our family. (Our daughter was the first woman in our family to receive a college degree, our son the second man to receive a degree.) Pure joy!

    I leave you with the ringtones from my son and me.
    (We chose rock songs because I can be way to sentimental.)
    Don't Stop believing! (The Mom's weekend at WSU song)
    ...and Sweet Child of Mine...my son's ringtone on my phone...it just makes me smile, as well as everyone at work, when he calls. ( Jay calls this music his "car seat music"! LOL)
    God Bless!
    withLove!


    I am going to checkout Sarah's blog!

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    Replies
    1. I love the ringtones! I am definitely setting up a different ring for Cole before he leaves next Saturday. I'll let you know what we pick. Thank you for your kind words. Every time I hear from you I wish I could just drop over for coffee!

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  3. Whoops! Just saw it as I pushed publish! Typo! ( "an" online ) !
    w/L

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  4. Hi Denise! I'm so glad I discovered your blog through Sarah's. Hers is my absolute favorite too!! I LOVE your story of motherhood - such an inspiration!!

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