Graduation
My oldest daughter is graduating from high school, and our family is in the middle of ceremonies, award nights, and celebrations. It’s been a sweet time recognizing the talents, interests, and accomplishments of her high school experience; she qualified and sailed at two national sailing competitions (the only girl on her team), received several awards and scholarships for her visual art, and attained top grades even with the complication of having a under-supported learning disability.
Friends tried to warn me how busy this season would be, but I had no realistic idea of what they meant. It’s not only the numerous extra events on the calendar, but the big and small decisions to be made, random checklist to finish, and all this while in a mixer of swirling emotions – for weeks and weeks.
Parenting this daughter began with her infant heart surgery, then navigating life with severe food allergies, asthma, and a little-known learning disability, on top of all the regular parenting struggles. It was not easy.
But also, parenting both our girls has been one of the most rewarding and wonderful experiences of my life.
This June, I am a messy mix of gratitude and love for this amazing young woman – her depth, emotional intelligence, confidence, creativity, connection, her wisdom beyond her years, her curiosity, and her passion.
And I am grieving the loss of her launching. I’ll miss the daily life interactions, hearing what’s she’s thinking, dreaming, doing, and musing about; her request for a hug while I’m loading the dishwasher.
It’s a bitter-sweet season. Sometimes I can’t discern if my tears are from love and pride, or from sadness and grief. Like I said, it all swirls together. It is new, unknown, and more complicated than I’d like it to be.
This was first published in my monthly newsletter on Substack, June 6, 2026
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