2015 vs 2019
- We will be in a hotel room while he dresses for the ceremony, so I will not be able to select his clothes and iron his gown. (“Take the gown out of the package and hang it near the shower to get the wrinkles out.”)
- I will be able to blame my tears on the pollen and the pollen alone, since the ceremony is scheduled to be outdoors.
- I am not going to worry about finding $100,000 or so to finance his university education. (“All that tuition money, and they still want a hundred bucks for a polyester gown?”)
- I am not going to worry about whether he will succeed in college without his mom’s daily presence. (“Did you or did you not remember to hang up the gown?”)
- I am not going to worry about whether he will fit in, or will make friends, or will find activities and classes that speak to his passions.
- I am going to worry about his next stage of life, once his summer commitments are over, and about just how far away from home he will be.
- I won’t be impatient with families who cheer loudly, because this time that family may be ours. (“Wooooooo! That’s our son, the one in the wrinkled gown!”)
- Son will be able to legally drink an alcoholic beverage (or two) as we toast his successes and chuckle about the times we doubted him.
- Instead of asking my older children to offer the graduate some advice on college life, I will ask my older children to offer some advice on real life.
- I will make the graduate pose for many photos in many campus locations, because by now he ought not to be embarrassed by his mom’s sentimental expectations.
- I will have to retire my favorite expression, the one I have been using whenever Son exasperated me: “Your life? Honey, we pay for your life.”