Prom, Graduation, Hawaii Oh MY!

Well, another school year is about to start and I have barely gotten over the last one.  For it really was The. Last. One.  Anna graduated from High School.  The moment I had been dreaming of and working toward for almost eighteen years had finally arrived.

She. Was. Done.

Before she could walk down that aisle, however, smiling and glowing in her accomplishment,  there was Prom.  And I should have known that there would be drama.  Because after four years of buying dresses, and getting hair done, and finding just the right shoes, I should have known that this time would be no different.  And it wasn't!  The makeup that was "expertly applied" at the mall "wasn't right." The text I received while she was still in the beauty chair read, "she didn't even wash my hair!" And the boutonniere she bought for her date,  got left behind in the downstairs fridge.

But then, when the magic hour struck, like always, everything was fine.  Those much sought after shoes,  sparkly silver Toms, arrived via UPS just in the nick of time.  (4:00 p.m. the day before!)  Emily, the wonder with a makeup brush, fixed her face;  which really needed no fixing, in my opinion.   Her hair turned out beautifully, and the forgotten boutonniere was discovered by moi, before heading over to her friend's house for the pre-dance photo shoot.

The 3 Amigos: Rachael, Anna, and Athena

Following the Prom was, of course, the Post Prom Party, which I tried very hard not to think about.  Not that I'm in denial about my kid's social life, but I try to believe that she knows how to be as responsible as any seventeen year old should be?  Right?  I mean we have had the talk. Talks.  Many talks.


Then there was the Senior Sleep Out.  Basically, a party at a local campground.  Without parents.  Obviously,  I have no photos.  

Anna (Left) beginning her walk with her friend Rachael.
That's Victoria peeking upward in the front.

And then it was here:  Graduation!  The big moment!   Finally, I could breathe again.  And as I sat in the stands trying to zoom my little camera's lens in close enough to see her face, and listen to the speeches of her fellow graduates talk in depth about how they will never forget one another, or "The Woodrow,"  I tried desperately to remember my own graduation.  I know it was on the football field at my high school.  It was sunny.  My parents were there.  But that's it!  Things have come and gone in my life since that all important day,  leaving it only a vague memory.  Things like Dave, and Anna and Nora Jane.  But I didn't share that with Anna.  Because this was her moment.  Her time to shine.  And shine she did!  She had on her new dress (which, of course, no one could see and the aforementioned silver sparkly Toms), her hair was normal, no fuss, no muss.  Her smile was HUGE and she was ready!

The Grandmas and Grandpas were there, minus one.  And he was truly missed.  But walking much of a distance is just too much for my dad these days, so he got the benefit of my cell phone.  "She's on stage."  "She got her diploma!"  "She's smiling!"  "I'm STILL NOT crying!"  Text after text.  Thank God for cell phones!

The VERY Proud Family

And after a few more pictures, again she was gone.  To another party.  I went home and tried to sleep.  

THEN came the trip we had all been waiting for:  Hawaii.  A time to rest, relax, and relish in being together.  And it was all I hoped it would be.  Fourteen days in Maui was exactly what we all needed;  sun, surf, sand, and nothing to do but remember how good we are together.  We laughed, we swam, we sunburned (okay that was me), sunbathed (that was Anna).  We ate good food, we read, we watched movies,  we reconnected.  

Father's Day in Maui:  Beautiful!  

Beautiful Anna

Beautiful Nora Jane

Those fourteen days were magical for me, fairy tale like.  Everyone got along. There were no arguments.  My children laughed, really laughed, and played together.  

See--Happy Girls:
They were really like this the whole trip!  

There were no responsibilities, other than feeding ourselves.  Heaven!  I couldn't have asked for a better ending to high school, which was not at all fairy tale like.

My Bad Ass Baby:
Yes:  This IS the same girl as above
and HOPEFULLY not a sign of what's to come for me! Ha!

So it has been a crazy hectic time;  filled with drama, conflict, and tension.  Followed by hugs, tears, and reconciliation.  God what a pattern!  But we all survived.  Anna is happy and now looking forward to her future whilst (don't you love getting to use words like whilst?)  I am faced with one of my life's biggest changes:  moving my baby   daughter to college.  Okay, obviously she is no longer a baby.  But ya--to me--she totally still is.  

So here we are now.  Four days to go.  And I'm holding it together pretty well.  Even the dorm shopping didn't bring me down.  Instead,  it gave me a purpose.  She still needs me.  At least she needs my money.  So we have bought bedding, and hot pots, and dishes, and laundry soap, and cable locks for computers.  And through it all, I was fine.

And then I went to the grocery store.  Where I saw a group of girls, about twelve or thirteen years old, laughing in their daisy dukes and training bras, texting-- one another probably.  And I thought, where did my girl go?  So I turned my cart away.  Away from their laughter, their smallness, their youth, and headed into the produce section, where it hit me:  The Vegetable Tray.  The Vegetable Tray that Anna ALWAYS brought to her yearbook parties.  The Vegetable Tray that I was ALWAYS delivering to the school at the last minute, because she forgot it at home, or more likely, at the store.  And I panicked; is she going to eat her vegies?  Is she going to be alright?  Is she going to study hard and avoid the pressures of college life?  And my eyes started to tear up!  Right there in front of all the shoppers, and watermelons, and ranch dips. 

I don't know how long I stood there staring in that vegetable case.  Probably not long.  But long enough to make me realize that this is it.  She has grown up.  And I wheeled my cart away.

A little wave to Mom