Wonder if there is some sort of support group to help you get through the weirdness of having your child leave 13 years of public schooling behind in exchange for almost total independence.

Graduation was surreal.

These ceremonies are supposed to be long and boring, but the evening sped by with all my memories of her growing up. It feels like a blur now...a sea of green gowns on the football field, the wind blowing, cameras flashing, hugs, tears, flowers.

She's done.

The reality of having Darling Daughter graduate didn't hit me until that morning and I got a little verklempt. I had to admit that my work here is done. There's very little left for me to teach her; that phase of parenting is all but over. She has to take charge of her life now, and as exciting as that is (and relieving!) it is also very sad. The tether is thinning.

If I wanted to have a good cry, I could pull out her scrapbooks and see how my baby grew. My sweet little baby, who didn't ask to come along when her parents were only twenty and naive, yet steadfastly stuck with us, welding us into a family unit.

She has always been called a polite girl. She was never afraid to go to nursery, join the boys in flag football, go to overnight basketball camp or EFY knowing not a single soul. She ate every kind of food we introduced her to, traveled long car trips as a child with nary a complaint, and fell in love with all of mom's favorites, from Ella Fitzgerald to Pride and Prejudice. Winning Best Personality in her senior class confirmed that others thought what we already knew, that she's sensitive and touches others with her sincerity.

Just as she tossed her mortar board in the air, I feel I'm launching her skyward; ready, with a lump in my throat, to watch her fly.