May 24

May 24 THE NEXT CHAPTER

‘Papas in disbelief that I’m act graduating’, came the text from my daughter yesterday evening.

‘You did well. I’m proud of your accomplishments’, I texted back. Then added, ‘You proved him wrong’.

I am sure she was quite proud of that fact. Of proving him wrong after all of the doubts of her journey. As my younger daughter would often say, ‘Trust the process’. And she’s right. Sometimes we do not know how things will work out until the entire picture comes into view. We need to trust that the pieces will all fall into place in their own time.

‘Im decorating my grad cap rn’, she wrote. That was the first I’ve heard of graduation caps being decorated and I was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out.

This morning came the update on the cap. ‘Wanna see my grad cap’, she was finished and I was very impressed as it turned out beautifully. Red and silver, with references to $uicideboy$.

As I sat there at the HEB Center tonight watching the event unfold, it still felt surreal that my firstborn child has graduated from high school and will be on her way to the next chapter of her life.

The years seemed to have gone by quickly. And sadly, there were a few years where I had missed out of her everyday life as circumstances changed and the girls moved to live with their father. Despite those obstacles and challenges, we all made it through to the end and came together to celebrate Saffron’s great achievement.

Having been an August baby, like me, my daughter went to school a year earlier than most people. And, just like me, she graduated at 17 years of age.

‘…he’s j starting to realize im actually leaving’, she texted later in our conversation.

‘It’s a sad part of life for parents but exciting for children’, I texted back.

The time we have with our children is limited before they leave the home to start their own future. Before we realise it, all of those years of having the honour of their presence in our home will have come to an end and they will continue onwards on their own life’s journey. Of navigating life outside of the protection of parents and exploring and creating a new life for themselves. And writing the next chapter of their story.