This past weekend I was in Easton, Kansas for the high school graduation of the Pleasant Ridge Class of 2019.
I had these students when they were seventh graders, having left them to return to Michigan in the summer of 2014.
I went to a grad party on Saturday, and walked up to a table of soon to be grads.
There were no spontaneous outbursts of joy, no illuminated faces, no welcoming or reuniting hugs. My heart broke a little.
Upon the retelling of this story, people were quick to tell me that it has been five years, that they are teenagers, and that even though it was a lovely gesture to return to Kansas for their graduation, ultimately, the weekend was not about me.
So, I shifted my attention and spend a lot of time with my friends – former colleagues, parents of former students, and went down memory lane and enjoyed revisiting some favorite old haunts.
It was a little better when I went to the actual graduation, and former students leapt into my arms and cried a little. I let the the hopefulness and joy that permeates the air of high school graduations wash over me.
But, by the time the weekend came to a close, I was ready to go home and be back with my (current) students.
This week was our seniors’ last week of school. The week has been filled with hugs, tears, and gratitude. I love how life is a circle – as a chapter closed in Kansas with the high school graduation of my last group of Pleasant Ridge Rams, a new chapter is beginning with the high school graduation of my first group of Dearborn Pioneers.
Life sure is a bittersweet ride – and I am grateful.
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