Senior Timeline



Aly 3 years old




Aly 17 years old...my how time flys!


Yesterday a friend pointed out that there were less than 60 days of school left for our graduating seniors. She said she was looking at the Senior Timeline provided by her son's school and it prompted her to feel slightly panicked. My response was that it will feel more like a "Senior Zip line". Time is whipping along, and there is no stopping it.

 My calendar is steadily filling up with plans and that is going to make the time go by even faster. Included in those plans is a return trip to a university in Rochester, New York so that Aly can make sure that is the school she wants to go to. Right on the heels of that trip is another trip to New Orleans. We (my sister and I) will be closing on the sale of the building my Mom and Dad owned and most likely going to a court hearing that we hope will move all of the estate escapades along.

 There will be exams and a prom, as well as a two weekend run of a play and a choir concert. There will be honors night and scholarship night (these are two separate nights just to annoy Senior parents) and also just because we need more to do, Avery turns Sweet 16 and I have told her she can have a party (aren't I nice?). There will the graduation ceremony and the traditional after graduation, All Night Party, put on by some of the senior parents. I am also planning a graduation party for Aly two weeks after graduation. When I said zip line, I was not kidding!

 Before all of this takes place our family is going to take a spring break trip with some of Aly's friends and their parents. This will be a nice respite before the graduation caps hit the fan. Once we return I hope to be relaxed and rested enough to sail through the remainder of the Senior Zip Line without blinking.

 The truth is I have spent the last almost eighteen years wishing away every moment in my daughter's life. I wanted her to crawl and then walk, then I wanted her to talk, which led to going to school and learning. She has learned to ride a bike and drive a car. I have hoped and wished her to where she is now and I cannot slow the process down. There are going to be more milestones and we are going to be watching them zip by as well.

 Life is full of timelines. Life is also full of moments that build strands that we slide our parental pearls on. These pearls are our memories of our children's lives and their accomplishments. These pearls are our coveted jewels that we keep with us when we release our children into the world. We can only hope and pray that others slow down enough to appreciate our children's value and that these same people respect and love them as much as we do. Our Senior Zip Line is open and ready for business and I am proud and happy to be along for the ride.