It’s hard to believe the day has come: my 17 year-old, my Guinea Pig, my first born has graduated high school!!
I still remember holding him in my arms as a tiny baby, in disbelief that I grew this little butterball of a human in my belly, and thinking, “I’ll be 35 when he graduates, 36 when he’s 18! That’s still so young!” And it seemed like it would be eons till that time would come–but really, it went by in the blink of an eye 😥 .
He’s accomplishing so much, which makes me even more proud because I know how his social anxiety and just his anxiety in general can immensely overwhelm him sometimes.
He got his permit to drive:
And I’ve taken him driving a few times. We’ve realized that Anxiety+Anxiety=OMGWTFBBQ!!!
Case in point:
It’s crazy how nervous I get, seeing as how I not only taught myself how to drive, but John, too! But I need to suck it up and make time to take him more often. Maybe drink some calming tea beforehand 😆 !
He took his tests for college and passed them all! Was even exempt from a couple due to doing so well. He was in a group photo with other seniors my workplace had awarded scholarships to. He looked nervous, and awkward, but he didn’t complain about going. And once he overcame that obstacle, he was on to graduation.
The girls sat with their dad, since they were at his house and they were expecting a large party, but Jaylen came over to sit with Jorge and I.
Mom sat away from us because she wasn’t about to hassle with stairs LOL.
I was ready, I had both my phone and camera out so I could catch Eenan walking in….And then Jorge says, “Isn’t that Eenan??” And I totally missed it and caught his back only. Durrr.
And then they called his name and I got all teary 😥 . But I held it together!
And then they were done and it was total CHAOS trying to find your kid. It was like ants trying to find their way after someone disrupts their neat little line; just crazy. It didn’t help that another graduation was happening THAT MINUTE and people were trying to get in, while others were trying to get out. We were on the phone with Eenan, driving him crazy, no doubt; Mary, Mario, me. Then Mary and Jaylen went to find him, Jorge’s anxiety was through the roof due to people rubbing up on him so he went to the car, Mario was waiting near his car and poor Mom was tired AF since we had to walk all around the darn parking lot. Finally, we found him, and finally it was time for photos with the graduate!
As I mentioned on social media: no matter what, in spite of everything, I’m glad we can all come together to celebrate the kids’ accomplishments, no matter how big or small. That’s what’s important!
He overcame another anxiety-inducing moment by attending a luncheon honoring him and the other scholarship recipients. He did well, even when he had to stand up, introduce himself and state his university and major.
So proud of my guy and all he’s accompmished! Can’t wait to see what he does next. And we’ll be there every step of the way!
(Ok, I’m not sure what the mobile version of WordPress did, but I can’t seem to resize photos and now they look all wonky. My apologies 🙄 .)
