Today is my younger son’s very last day of high school, which is a momentous occasion. All my thousands of hours spent parenting a student are complete. Yes, he’s off to university in the fall, but the responsibility of his schoolwork will be 100% his own. No more e-mails to teachers, no more packed school lunches, no more asking “what do you have for homework?” (Note that I never asked “do you have homework?” as that question can lead to the answer “no.”)
I am deeply proud of this guy. Congratulations, kid! I can’t wait to see what life brings you.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats!!!
My “baby” just graduated as well. Congrats to your family, and here’s to a new chapter!
Wow! Congratulations! My son still has one year of school and then he told me he might have a gap year before university. My son has spent so much time with ongoing health issues, I’m relieved he is thinking that way. He is on the mend but yeah…stressful.
My oldest boy turns 7 tomorrow, so I cannot fathom this milestone. You can be proud of yourself, too, Katy, for helping him get to this point. Congratulations and best wishes for the future!
Congratulation to your son and to the entire family! One of the happiest days of my life was when I watched my younger son stride across that stage and accept his diploma. For him it was a long hard haul, but he made it and we were proud.
Best wishes for a happy future to him!
Congratulations!
That is one of life’s greatest moments!
My oldest struggled all through school, then graduated with a 3.5 average. Don’t know who was happier, me or her guidance counsellor!
Great day!
Congratulations!
Congratulations! You won’t know what to do with yourself for a while. 😀
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Congratulations! What a beautiful young man.
Such an exciting day!! Congrats to the grad!
Woohoo! Congrats!
This day is still pretty far away for me, as my oldest won’t even graduate until next year.
Does this feel sort of surreal?
Yes, very surreal! It’ll hit hard when he leaves for college in the fall.
Is he attending the same university as your older son? I’m just curious! That would make it easy for them to room together, I suppose, if they wanted to. But kind of curious what siblings do once they hit college!
Ha ha! That’s how I usually needed to word it for my son, too (regarding the homework)! Funny! I also have a son whose last day was May 26th and graduation will be on Friday, my baby. Bittersweet, it is. Our daughter graduated in 2012 so we are on our way to being empty nesters, as well.
Congratulations to both you and your son. Being a parent is the hardest job you will ever love. As you know, parenting doesn’t end when they graduate, but it does change.
Congratulations to your son and to you and to all the family, Katy! We have two daughters — younger one graduates from HS next Thursday! — elder one a rising college junior. It’s a sweet and poignant time. And hooray for parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and teachers and friends and caring adults everywhere — I believe it really does take a village…
Goodness, how awesome and how heartbreaking at the same time. The baby of our family will be a senior this fall, and I will miss him so much when he leaves home for college. I have been a stay at home mom for 27 years. Won’t know what to do with myself.
Anyway, congrats to your boy! He sure is a good-lookin’ kid! I see a very strong resemblance to his mama. : )
Congratulations! I hope he carries the principles of frugality and non-consumerism with him through adulthood. 🙂
Awe, congratulations momma, looks like you did a great job!
Congratulations!! So happy for all of you!!
Congratulations Katy to you, your son, and the whole family!
I got a chuckle out of your list of what you won’t have to do anymore since my oldest’s last day of HS is tomorrow and graduation is tomorrow night (cap & gown rented; no purchase option). Still more years of packed lunches, emails to teachers, and yes, the carefully worded “What homework was assigned today?” and “What should you be working on that’s due in the future?” with younger kid, though. I’m feeling a bit relieved that I get to ease into not having my older son around. He decided to attend our excellent state university where he was offered a scholarship and gets a tuition discount since Dad works there. Bonus is that it’s only ~8 minutes from our house. So he’ll be living at home next year, albeit moving downstairs where there’s a basement apartment of sorts.
Congratulations to you both! Ours are 7 months, 2 years, and 5 years. We are having the time of our lives and will miss these days one day. But we fanaticize about the last day of high school EVERY DAY. 🙂
Awww, congrats!
I got so teary-eyed when my two kids each graduated from high school. Since they both elected not to “walk” for their college diplomas, high school was the last graduation ceremony I attended for each one. High school graduation was a precious time, and a bit of a scary one — were they ready? Did we do a good job with them? Will they be able to pick a major, finally? Will they be wise in their choices and successful in their classes? It’s a wonderful, sad, exciting, nervous time — for all of the family!
My granddaughter finished high school by handing the announcer the wrong person’s name at graduation ceremonies—lucky it was a small school and he knew her right name. The jokester surprised us in college and worked hard, however, graduation cum laude while working two jobs as well as going to school full time. So even if your graduate hasn’t won a lot of prizes, there is still hope!! Congrats to all of this years graduation seniors and good luck in the years ahead.
Mine is still trying to find her niche, but she is working at a “fill in” job until she finds the dream job. Two years since college graduation, but still trying to find that elusive job she will love.
As a high school teacher, I appreciate your wording about the homework! Hopefully your son does too, now that he’s seeing the pay-off.
I remember that awesome sense of relief. Now you move on to simple things, like “Are you sure you need to drop that class?” “Please, please go to the job fair and try to get a summer internship!” But when they graduate, get a job, and their own place to live, then you can really relax.
Congratulations to your young man and to you, mama, as well!!
Such a handsome son!!
Your attitude is so refreshing. I just finished reading “How to Raise an Adult” by the former Dean of Students at Stanford and was shocked by her stories of parents who continue to hover and overparent as their kids go off to college and then start their first jobs. A friend who taught college-level courses in New York told me that the number of calls she received from her students’ parents regarding grades, homework, etc. was unbelievable. Our job as parents is to raise independent adults, yet it’s surprising how many American parents have forgotten this. I’m curious if anyone else sees a link between the goal of raising independent, self-sufficient adults and frugality.