Graduation cake, anyone?

What fun parents have celebrating their children as they reach another milestone in their life.

Yes, it is a lot of work, and a lot of stress planning and wondering if everything can possibly get done in time, but as much complaining as I may have done each of the past three years (yes, that's right - three in a row) I have loved it all.

It has given me the opportunity to get out all those papers and art projects and photos that have been packed away for years.

We laugh over the stick drawings, the spelling of words (you know the ones - that the teachers told them, "spell them out how they sound") and seeing the important things in their life back then (and comparing those favorites to today.)

Pictures - so many pictures. I hope that I am not the only one that has not taken the time (or found the time) to put them in photo albums. It is a retirement project, I keep telling myself, and the finished albums will then be gifts to my children who by then will have children of their own and will probably not even be interested in how they looked when they were young.

I have continued to take photos even though I know that I will not get them in albums and I smile everytime I get those old photos out. One thing I recognized throughout all the "sibling" photos we got out this time is the smiles. So many smiles. It makes me happy seeing that my children were also happy.

The sizes of them was also fun to compare. Photos of older sister Marissa taller than her one year younger sister lasted only for a few years - poor Marissa has been left in the shadows since. And our boys - Jordan towering over his little brother by three feet and now, though 6'4 Jordan doesn't want to admit it but his "little" brother is taller.

Bringing back the teachers that were so instrumental in making our kids who they are today is also a wonderful part of graduation. All of my kids have had wonderful teachers at Aurelia School - and I can't thank them enough.

That has to be odd for the teachers, especially the elementary teachers, going to the graduations - they must still see the little people they had as students.

And the food - the wonderful food. This year we offered a taco bar and an ice cream bar (with many favorites in-between such as nuts, mints, Oreo bon bons which I had to practically start all over on as Meghan and her friend pulled them from the freezer and satisfied their cravings) and of course cake. So much cake.

We will have a breather next year from an extravagant high school grad party (although we will have a college graduation). All that cake - well, maybe it will last for the next party.