Sarah graduated from high school! What a huge accomplishment, full of trying again after challenging moments, full of bus rides, school jobs, and after-school plays. She and I took the bus to her graduation practice, and it was fun to see her hanging out with her friends while waiting for everyone else to arrive. For graduation itself, it felt like a minor miracle that Sarah agreed to wear a white dress as required so that it wouldn’t show through the white gown. We felt a bit rushed to get to the bus so we didn’t bring enough warm things to wear, but we did get to the cathedral when Sarah was supposed to arrive. It was heart-filling to watch her walk up the aisle, smiling and looking around with wonder.
The cathedral was large and beautiful, but the acoustics were terrible, so it was quite difficult to hear what was being said. The people behind us clearly weren’t even trying to hear because they talked throughout, and not in a whisper. Sarah did beautifully for the whole service, and even if we couldn’t hear her name, we could see when it was time to cheer loudly. After the cap toss, which happened before all of the families even made it outside, Sarah was determined to change into the t-shirt and shorts she brought, so I took her to do that. We quickly fell back into our slightly stressed and tense patterns of interaction with each other, and I felt disappointed in myself for losing the joy of the moment. Then I reminded myself that just because a big momentous thing happens, doesn’t mean all other issues go away forever. Having friends and family surround us when we emerged helped me get back to feeling good, and Sarah had a great time overall. She especially loved watching buses and riding buses as part of the experience.
The next night we went to an event at the Manchester Craftsman Guild to see Amy’s drawing of the Whisper brace that we knew was on display. The good thing with going in person was that she could ask them to correct the orientation since they had hung it sideways. Sarah didn’t go inside to see the art. She was too busy running back and forth in the spray from a fountain, getting completely soaked. Earlier in the day she had packed a bag of backup clothes, saying she might need them after the sprinkler. I said I didn’t think there would be a sprinkler. She was right! Unfortunately, she left the bag of clothes at home. Fortunately, I always have a blanket in the trunk so she was able to wrap up and be warm for the ride home.
Friday night we had a double party to celebrate Sarah’s graduation from high school and Amy’s graduation from bracing. After 2 years, 9 months, and 20 days (about 1000 days total), Amy finished climbing a mountain that had seemed insurmountable when she began. After I took pictures of her wearing the brace, she took it off for the last time. What a huge, huge, huge deal. What a strong, courageous, and determined human being! It was fun to have our house crowded with friends and family who have supported the girls over the past many years, from the Sarah-Rise room door to the cathedral floor, and from the miserable start of bracing to the moment of freedom.
May you notice and celebrate your own accomplishments before rushing on to the next thing.
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