Pomp and Circumstance

There are few events in life more exciting, life changing, and emotional than a high school graduation ceremony. 

When my oldest son, Beau, graduated from Fairview High School in 2003, we had extended family from California, Louisiana, and Idaho that made the trip to Tennessee for commencement.

There were a total of 15 people who needed a place to stay, and our little 800+ square foot, one bath house could not possibly hold us all.  So, we rented a campground facility along the Harpeth River in Williamson County.  The main lodge for the camp easily accommodated everyone – each family had their own private room.  The massive kitchen was a blast to cook in, and all of the ladies pitched in to help with each meal.  It truly was a great time of catching up with family members that we had not seen for a few years. 

The big night arrived, and Beau graduated, with honors I might add, and we were quite proud of him as he received his diploma.  I treasure the pictures that we took that night.  My favorite will always be this one with Beau and the four other senior varsity baseball players.  I will never forget the memory of that night.

Five years later, Beau’s little sister, Sarah, graduated from the same high school and again we had family in from out of town.  We had such a blast reconnecting and finding out what was going on in each other’s lives. 

Sarah’s graduation ceremony had been moved from the football field at the high school to the local Agricultural Exposition Center (rodeo arena) and since it was inside, it had a totally different feel.  Sarah had just been in the high school’s spring musical, Wizard of Oz, a few weeks before.  She played Dorothy and did an outstanding job.  Some people said it was the very best production at Fairview High ever; and who am I to disagree?  And guess what!  She kept the shoes!  So to make it easier to spot her amidst all the other black caps and gowns, she wore her ruby slippers.  We could spot her a mile away.  We were so proud of her.  Sarah, too, graduated with honors and another night was spent celebrating an incredibly important milestone in our little family’s life.

Another five years later, Sarah’s little brother, Jesse, graduated from the exact same high school in the same rodeo arena as his sister. He, too, graduated with honors and, once again, family from California, Louisiana, and Idaho made the immense effort to be in attendance.  We were very proud of him as well. 

There are two memories that I have from that special night that stand out to me.  First, I was truly surprised to see how very close this group of seniors was.  After the ceremony, we spent a great deal of time taking pictures.  It was so fun to see how many great friends Jesse had made in his four years at Fairview High.  In fact, I wrote an entire blog about this specific group of kids last year!

From L-R:  Trey Sommerfeld, Jesse LeJeune, Jack Ramey, Mitch Weimer

The second thing that stands out in my mind from that night last May, is Jesse’s graduation dinner.  There were a dozen or so family members around the table at the Chili’s restaurant in Franklin.  We had a wonderful time chatting, exchanging stories and eating way too much!  Just before Jesse had to leave, we had him open his graduation gifts.  He got the standard gifts:  new sheets for the bed in his dorm room, new towels, and laundry soap as a few examples.  He received a number of cards containing checks or cash – which is always good. 

However, something very peculiar was happening.  In the midst of the gift opening, Jesse looked puzzled and confused.  He kept smiling and gratefully thanking each person for their gift.  At last, when he had finished opening gifts, he looked around the table and sincerely thanked all his grandparents, aunts, and uncles for coming and sharing in this rite of passage. 

We were all smiles, because we knew he had one more gift left to open.  Sarah pulled out from beneath her chair a rectangular box that was probably 4 inches thick.  Jesse looked at me with a quizzical expression.  He seemed to be asking for permission to open it.  I nodded a quiet yes.  He opened up a brand new Dell laptop computer.  He was absolutely shocked.  Now I was the one who was confused.  He seriously looked at me like:  Is this really for me?   The moment was surreal.  I honestly thought that he would have been expecting a laptop; seems like that is the standard graduating gift for kids going off to college.  Right?  But he genuinely looked stunned.  I truthfully have never seen anyone as grateful, surprised and happy as Jesse was.  I was overwhelmed with emotion.

Jesse asked if we could take the gifts in our van, since he had to go to graduation rehearsal before the ceremony and we, of course, agreed.   Jesse asked me to walk him out to his car.  I was glad he did.  I immediately asked him what was wrong.  He turned me and said, “I just didn’t know that I was going to receive any presents tonight.”  I chuckled and replied, “Well, are your friends receiving congratulatory cards with money and checks in them?”  He smiled and answered a bit sarcastically, “Well yeah.”  I asked, “Didn’t you expect that you might as well?  After all, we did send 24 graduation announcements to family members.”  He laughed and said, “I guess you’re right.”  He continued, “But I never expected that you and dad would get me a laptop.”  His face has such an innocent expression at the revelation of how generous his family was to him on the occasion of graduation.  His humble reaction of gratitude was incredibly sweet.  He just honestly couldn’t believe at all that he had been given.  It was such a precious moment for me.

I know that we will have many more extraordinary occasions with weddings and grandbabies and other memorable events.  But so far those three nights in our little family’s history are quite remarkable.

(c) 2014 Diane C. LeJeune and Feeling Good Entertainment, LLC (c) 2014 Tribal Tales