Posts Tagged ‘McGehee’

For better or worse (the worse being how fast it happened), weeks/years/aeons of preparation came together Friday night, and Alison graduated, looking just radiant and terribly, terribly grown up.

:::sigh:::

I didn’t cry, not really- got a little misty, but nothing too bad. The one thing that would have really, truly killed me was kept to a bare minimum, and the elephant in the room was hardly mentioned at all, which, IMHO, was a huge mistake.

See, Ali belongs to the “Katrina Class-” the ones with the unique distinction of having just started freshman year when the storm hit and ripped things apart. She’d had exactly one week of school before the hurricane, spent at a Texas dude ranch/retreat, of all things.

It was McGehee’s annual getaway for incoming girls to go off and discuss what’s in store for them as highschoolers, generally bond and start figuring out what kind of young women they want to become.

For Alison, this was especially huge. She’d chafed under the thumb of a rigid group of friends, ending her 8th grade year a very unhappy girl and deciding to make big changes.

The retreat was a perfect launching pad and she made the most of it. Upon her return that Friday evening Ali bounced off the bus, laughing and hugging new friends. She was happier than I’d seen her in a long time, excited and looking forward to new adventures.

Well, maybe not starting on Monday, though. “We’ll probably get it off!” girls squealed like Yankee kids at the idea of a snowstorm.

36 hours later we were in a car, fleeing ahead of the massive storm, desperately searching over 500 miles of highway for a hotel room. School wouldn’t open for another 8 weeks and much of the class wouldn’t come back at all, having lost everything. The ones who did come back were never the same.

Oh sure, the returnees were brave. Their youthful resiliency was inspiring, and by helping the city, the girls helped themselves as everyone around them clawed their way back to sanity a bit at a time.

But none of them were the same as they were, and who knows who these girls would have turned out to be without the hurricane. They’d have been more innocent, surely. Still able to believe that things will turn out alright simply because they ought to. But maybe not so tough, or so aware that a single person can make a huge difference in the world.

But, no, these weren’t the things that were addressed at the graduation. There were brief speeches about far less consequential things, assurances that they were good kids, bright girls, with fantastic futures ahead of them. Lots about the history and tradition of the school itself. Some good-natured roasting of habits, and even a little narcissism from the valedictorian. Tosh, the majority of it, generic things that could be said of most graduates, in most places. Therefore: few tears.

They deserved better- they took lemons and made lemonade, managing to make it sweeter than anyone could’ve imagined. They’re amazing, these Katrina kids, and they’ve provided their elders with an excellent example, and credit should have been given.

Again, just IMHO. If you could toss that elephant out of the room? It was a gorgeous night, filled with gorgoeous young ladies who are gonna go out and kick the world right in the ass.

After all, they’ve already done it once, as powerless 13 year olds- just think what they’re gonna accomplish as adults.

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So we got through last night.

The girls were all gorgeous, naturally, and looking like not a few of them had been crying before going out; over the years I’ve noticed that this is where graduation suddenly starts being real to them, which strange, given that their lockers are already cleared out, and exams taken.

The Sophomores put on a skit for the Seniors, using all kinds of inside jokes that you’d have to be a student to get and making fun of their teachers. This year’s was video-game themed, and the title aptly chosen (sigh):

In the end I managed to not bawl, or even get (overly) misty during the actual ceremony. It was all the lead up stuff that got to me, don’t ask me why. Watching, from outside the fence, as the girls turned after their portrait, heading back into the building, using the stairs that are off limit to all but seniors when they’re barely still seniors at all…

What can I say? I’m a sucker for symbolism…

The only point at which I got emotional was when the girls started filing in, and someone had chosen Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, which was, you know…odd.

In case Coldplay’s not your cup of tea, the song is one of mourning and regret, of a life of power and importance lost. It’s melancholy yet bombastic, and though quite beautiful, uh, what’s the message here?

(Link to the video here.)

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
…
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand
…
For some reason I can’t explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

As if watching your child graduate wasn’t emotional enough, right? Now we have to consider the times we each thought we were masters of all we surveyed, only to watch it crash and burn…and now we get to re-realize that our kids are going to have to fall down those same damned holes and drag themselves out, all while wondering if their best days are behind them? Argh!

Thanks for the uplifting message, guys!

Anyway, as a dry-run for graduation, everybody did okay. No promises for the real thing.

And for McGehee, that means that it must be May Day. True, May Day’s supposed to be the 1st of the month, but that’s Jazz Fest, so that’s a nonstarter. It gets pushed off to the first weekend after Fest and there ya go.

I’ve been pretty good about this kid-gonna-graduate business, but tonight’s gonna be a sniffy one. Incoming Freshman at her school get a ‘big sister-’ an incoming Junior to show them the ropes. Then, just before graduation, the little sisters thank the big sisters before being promoted to being big sisters in their own right.

Got it? Moving on, moving up, growing, milestones…and yeah, okay sappy. Whatever. I’m not much of crier, but when Ali was the incoming Junior, I got weepy, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before she was the one wearing the white dress and moving on.

And so, practically over night, here we are:

I got sniffly just dropping her off, so I know it’s gonna put the makeup to the test tonight. So I have to head back to the school shortly for the ceremony, which amounts to a graduation warm up. Just imagine what that’ll be like. o_O

Okay, y’all.

So I thought last year’s prom was weird? I had no idea.

I was told (again) only 2 days before Prom that it was coming up. And (again) I went into “OMG, are you KIDDING me with this last minute stuff?!” mode, and (again) she looked at me like I was nuts.

Me: Whaddya mean it’s no big deal?
Her:Just what I said. God mom, chill.
Me:Where are we gonna get everything in a day and a half?! A dress? Shoes? Alison, this is ridiculous! (deep breath) Okay, okay.
Her:
Me: Alright, at least tell me what the theme is?
Her: Crawfish boil.
Me, post long-pause: Your prom theme is “crawfish boil?”
Her: No. Prom IS a crawfish boil. And it’s casual dress.

So here’s Alison’s classy classy prom photo- she wouldn’t stand still, but it’s what I got.

She wore shorts.

My mother is laughing her ass off at me in heaven, you know- I skipped prom altogether as being too bourgeois or whatever. So karma again bites me in the ass.

Ah well. It’s the only thing she’s done in years that’s saved me money.