Graduation Day! What more needs to be said? I still get a little choked up as I put on my black robe and adjust the hood lined the satin colors of my university and degree. We put our children on buses waving their lunchboxes the first day of school, join the PTA, bake cupcakes for birthdays, attend musicals, band performances, sporting events and shuffle them back and forth to practices until that grand day in May (in our case June) when they walk across a finely manicured lawn to shake the Principals hand and receive a coveted cowhide to certify they have completed the requirements for twelve years of education. The joy, the fear, the tears that roll down every parents face as they watch that 15 seconds which thrusts their baby into the hard cruel world of adulthood. If it was only that easy!
In our case that 15 seconds of pride involves about two months of planning. This year our school graduated 571 seniors and trust me this event doesn’t happen like magic. Counselors rush around to ensure that graduation requirements are met; including that final on the last day of classes, secretaries proof-read lists of seniors verifying that ALL names are included on the program, the registrar orders metals for Valedictorians (our school bestows this honor to all with a 4.0), the custodial staff makes sure all the chairs are properly angled on the field and the stage is secured, the Principal rehearses his speech, the hired security guards work traffic control in an endless sea of automobiles, Campus Supervisors remind guests that they can not “save seats” in the stadium as thousands pack together to participate a milestone of their graduate’s life. I stood at the gate smiling at guests and shaking hands watching the crowd for any thing that might disrupt this dignified ceremony for about two hours prior to the event.
Then suddenly, just as glorious as a sunrise they appeared around the corner… all decked out in their green robes and gold sashes. As the bagpipes played an introduction, I attempted to clear a path through the crowd who arrived too late to be seated. First came the teachers… I filed in at the back of this line to ensure I secured a seat at the back of the graduates, lest any rogue beach ball magically appear. Two by two they marched in… smiling from ear to ear, cameras clicking, roars from the audience was almost deafening as pomp and circumstance played their entrance. Finally they were all seated. Since we have such a large senior class, speakers are cautioned to keep their speeches short and to the point.
I sat smiling to myself at the beautiful behavior of our graduates as the Principal “Who has a lion's roar but heart of gold” thanked the crowd for their influence on our children’s lives and an invitation to the Class of 2008 to meet him in 2028. All was well UNTIL… mid-way through the Senior Class President’s speech the crowd started to ROAR and Seniors began to stand on their seats… I attempted to re-seat them when I looked up and noticed an almost naked young man (he did manage to wear sneakers and a sock on his private part) ran across the visitor’s side of the stadium (opposite of crowd) with two hired security guards chasing after him.
Of course this streaker was not content to merely run across the track… he had to jump the fence and run the entire lengthof the visitors stands with the crowd cheering him on. The young lady attempted to finish her speech, and then the Principal reminded the crowd that graduating seniors deserved a dignified ceremony… he quickly added “from this point on.” Everyone had a good laugh and somehow, we managed to carry on as if nothing had ever happened. Part of me wanted to laugh, the other was furious! We had worked for months to make this a "DIGNIFIED" ceremony for these kids… and in just a matter of seconds it became a ceremony that none of us will soon forget.
I guess this was the last “teachable moment” we will have with these kids… regardless of how much you plan or secure arrangements there is always somebody out there that is willing to “show their behind” and turn your hard work into just another joke. What we choose to do with these set backs is what truly makes us an adult.
