Graduation Day!

“It’s the oldest story in the world. One day, you’re 17 and planning for someday, and then quietly and without you really noticing, someday is today, and then someday is yesterday, and this is your life. We spend so much time wanting, pursuing, wishing. But ambition is good, chasing things with integrity is good, dreaming. If you had a friend you knew you’d never see again, what would you say? If you could do one last thing for someone you love, what would it be? Say it. Do it. Don’t wait. Nothing lasts forever. Make a wish and place it in your heart. Anything you want, everything you want. Do you have it? Good. Now believe it can come true. You never know where the next miracle’s going to come from, the next memory, the next smile, the next wish come true. But if you believe that it’s right around the corner, you open your heart and mind to the possibility of it, to the certainty of it, you just might get the thing you’re wishing for. The world is full of magic. You just have to believe in it. So make your wish. Do you have it? Good. Now believe in it with all your heart.” -One Tree Hill

Yesterday, my little sister graduated from high school.  I woke up thinking, "It's Graduation Day!" as if Jade was Elsa and it was her "Coronation Day!" To say, "I can't even" is an understatement. I remember when I was an only child. I remember when she was born, I remember cheering her on at her various sporting events, I remember yelling her for a multitude of reasons. She's my little sister and in a lot of ways, I think of her as my first child. Mom does refer to me as her "other mother" after all. I  woke her up for school, helped her with her homework, I drove her to and from school. Somehow she went from being my baby sister that wouldn't play Barbies with me to being a 19 year old high school graduate. I'm so immensely proud, I can't even imagine how my mother feels. All 3 of us, Mom, Jade and myself are now Lancaster Alumna. Time and life are a weird thing, they move with lightning speed and you don't realize how important something is until it's over and you're looking back just like, "WOW".

"When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Our answers were things like astronaut, president, or in my case… princess.

When we were ten, they asked again and we answered - rock star, cowboy, or in my case, gold medalist. But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how 'bout this: who the hell knows?!

This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, its time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere chill. Fall in love - a lot. Major in philosophy 'cause there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind. Then change it again, because nothing is permanent.So make as many mistakes as you can. That way, someday, when they ask again what we want to be… we won't have to guess. We'll know." - Jessica, Breaking Dawn

So the goon child is off to college and then the world! I've loved, mostly, watching her grow up and I can't wait to see what's next! But one thing's for sure, she'll always be my precious baby sister!

xxoo

KJB