Alyssa's Graduation Day
Presenting my 2008 DHS graduate!
Exhausted, overwhelmed, emotional and filled with pride. These are only a few of the feelings I've experienced today. I've laughed, I've cried, I've cheered, and I've celebrated. It seems like only yesterday when she was placed in my arms and I said "Alyssa, I love you," for the very first time. Raising this beautiful child has been the greatest journey of my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world. My only regret is that the journey didn't last longer.
At the graduation ceremony today, the staff of DHS presented the final three scholarship awards to the class of 2008. These scholarships were top secret and none of the students or parents knew who the recipients were - the names of the recipients were not even listed on the program... that's how secret the scholarships are. These were the Faculty Scholarships - given based upon leadership, citizenship, community service and academic achievement (and a few other things that I can't remember right now because... well... I'm emotional). Students consider it to be of the utmost honor to receive these scholarships and they are highly regarded. The faculty member who presented the scholarships gave a lovely speech and I was choked up as she talked about the unknown recipients and their individual contributions to the class of 2008. After her introduction and explanation of the scholarship, she shared a bit about each recipient before announcing their name, and as she began to talk about the second recipient, I realized that she was saying some things that I was very familiar with... things that had shaped Alyssa's high school years... things that had consumed my daughter's every waking moment for the past nine months... things that made me wonder if maybe Alyssa was who Ms. Wingfield was talking about. Come to find out, Alyssa was having the same thoughts, but she figured it out much sooner than I did, and she later told me that she was crying tears of joy before her name was ever announced. She told me that the classmates she was sitting in back of turned around and said, "It's you!" She said that the students behind her were poking her back and whispering "Congratulations!" and "Way to go." And she also told me that when Ms. Wingfield announced her name, she was crying so hard she could barely make her way to the stage. Once she finally stopped crying, she began to smile, and she hasn't stopped smiling since. She is so honored to have been chosen for this award. And me... well, there are no words to express the pride I feel.
Here is a picture of Alyssa and the two other recipients of the DHS Faculty Scholarship:
As I said, I'm extremely emotional tonight. I still need to process it all because the event was so much more than I ever imagined. And so I will complete this entry with a pictorial review of the day because I think Alyssa's smile says it much better than words:
John and Alyssa with a very happy mom!
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Aunt Jenny and Aunt Debbie share our day.
Alyssa is at the all-night graduation party tonight. In the morning, we're off to Philadelphia for a few days of sightseeing and fun with the cousins. We plan to swim and shop and check out the Liberty Bell. There will be lots of food involved, too, because I don't cook and I think everyone who is going on the trip is tired of turkey sandwiches and graduation cake. Seriously, I think I've starved them. On Tuesday we will go to Hershey Park before heading for home because by then, these teenagers will be more than ready to collectively experience the unique sense of freedom that can only be found in an amusement park. And the chocolate - they want some of that as well. Alyssa considers herself to be Chief Cousin since she's the graduate and the eldest of the teens, and so in spite of the fact that she is allergic to chocolate, she knows that there are big bins of Twizlers at the Hershey Candy Factory. Therefore, she's given her stamp of approval on this plan. Anything... as long as it's not a turkey sandwich and more graduation cake.
After that, we will wind up Project Graduation as my mom and step-dad head back to the pacific northwest on Wednesday. On Thursday, my sister will be leaving for a visit with her husband's family in D.C. And on Saturday, Debbie and Casey return to Seattle where they will begin packing up their belongings in preparation for their move to Pennsylvania. And after I say my final good-byes and thank yous to the most special people in my life, our grand adventure will be complete... and that is when I plan on taking a week-long nap!
Soon, June 2008 will only be a memory - but the memories we are making at this moment in time will last a lifetime. I am positive that Alyssa will never forget her high school graduation; I know that for the rest of my days, I will feel pride when I remember this day. And when all is said and done, I could not ask for more.














Last night was the Senior Prom. Alyssa went with a group of friends, choosing not to have a date, but rather to enjoy the evening with everyone in her class. She's funny like that - no date just for appearance sake. She'd rather go solo than spend the night with someone she didn't like in the dating sense. I was proud of her for going alone - I don't know if I would have had the courage to do that when I was in high school. 



























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