Pomp and Circumstance

Today was our high school graduation. This is always a bittersweet time for me. I'm proud of the kids (well, most of 'em), and happy to see them go off to another stage in their lives, while at the same time being a bit sad that they're going. Every year, I think things are never going to be the same, and while they're not, a new batch of kids comes along every year and (so far, at least) re-energizes me.

I spent most of the weekend attending various graduation parties. I'm not sure how things go elsewhere, but the standard here is graduation party-hopping. Stopping at different kids' parties for a few minutes, talking with the graduate, parents, other siblings and friends there I may know or remember, and then it's off to the next party. I went to two Friday night, nine yesterday, and six today. (That number is actually lower than previous years.) We have a very rural district, encompassing a number of small towns and lots of farmland in between, so it's not a matter of going from block to block. It can be a challenge to plan out a route based on times and locations of parties. Since yesterday morning, I put 208 miles on my car.