Parenting Tips: Surviving Graduation Week

Tis the season.  Ahhhhh graduation.  Mental pictures of smiling graduates and their families standing proudly for the photo shot that marks the happy occasion.

Where are the cameras for all the angst of the week or weeks before graduation?  NO ONE wants to hold onto those memories and images.  Arguments over school deadlines. Overdue library or cafeteria fees that must be paid before diplomas are given.  Last minute surprise calls from school that bring more complications.  Seniors feeling entitled to adult privileges without equal responsibilities.  Attitudes, Retorts, and more attitudes.  Too many expectations of Hallmark moments.  Pride and concern. Stress of relatives and stress of a too crowded calendar.

Remember my Dec 23 2010 post?  It is still one of my most visited blog posts.  Revisit it.  Take the moment to Pause.  to Breathe.  Don't let the angst of graduation week distract you from the joy and pride. The dinners, the deadlines, the parties, the stuff is just that... stuff.  Pause. Breathe.

See the joy.  Feel the pride. 

Your child is graduating from high school.  Your child has made it farther than some may have expected.  The parent conferences and open house nights, the sports events and concerts, and exhibits you have attended. The years of homework struggles, of test anxiety or report cards that you both have survived.  Focus on the joy.  Focus on the pride.  Many, too many children never make it to this day. Forget the arguments and the stress of all those years AND of this week.  Be proud. Be joy-filled.  Your child is graduating.

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