Graduating During A Pandemic

Well, my son was going about his senior year and then the pandemic hit. Everything changed. He had to finish the year online. And oh, graduation was going to be virtual.

People complained. A virtual graduation? No. Not cool.

The school district listened. They said there would be a short ceremony recognizing each graduate. There was only 4 guests allowed. Masks mandatory. Temperatures would be checked. And when they said short, they meant it: 10 minutes long. No lingering.

I was fine with it. My son was fine with it. Who wants to sit around for 3 hours? He didn't. I didn't.

And so we arrived at his school at his allotted time. His four guests were with him: myself, his father, his sister, and his Nona.

I thought everything was set up well. Sections were blocked up and you followed bear paws on the floor. Bear paws, because the bear is the school mascot.

Along the way you could stop and take photos. Tommy saw several of his teachers who said how much they'd miss him.

You could take off masks for photos, but we usually kept ours on.

It was surreal to pass by familiar spots that Tommy has spent for 4 years. He would point, "Oh, I'd sometimes sit there at lunch." I know it must've felt strange to him.

But sometimes strange isn't bad. He'll always have these memories. He can tell his future kids, if he has any, "Yeah, I graduated during a pandemic. We had to wear masks. It was fast."

His time on stage was brief, but he was fine with that. A professional photographer was there to take shots.

I choked up a few times, I won't lie. That's my boy and he's done with school. Well, for now. He is attending community college. But even that'll be different since it'll be remote classes for the fall.

He said goodbye to some more teachers on the way out. He was given a t-shirt and a sign. Oh, and of course he had his diploma. The teachers made lots of noise when each graduate walked out for the last time. Tamborines, whistles, lots of woohoos.

And then that was it, and it felt strange, but okay. It's not the complete last time we'll be at the school. Natalie will be there after she completes 8th grade. Tommy will once again walk the halls. But for now? That was it. That's a wrap.

Tommy said as we walked to the car, "I'm going to miss that school. I'm going to miss going to class."

My heart squeezed a bit. Was it how I thought his high school career would end? No. But I appreciated what the school did to make the graduates feel special. There will still be a virtual graduation, but I am so grateful they allowed the students to say goodbye.

We took more photos at home, since they didn't want you to linger at the school.

My husband isn't big on photos, so I didn't make him take that many. I can see his jaw start to clench when he's had enough.

Yeah, you can't control Tommy's expressions.

And Tom was basically done at that point. I know some men are out there and they love photos. My husband? Is not one of them.

I told him he could go after this and he high tailed it into the house before I could change my mind.

Natalie left as well. "I gotta get back to Animal Crossing!"

We got a shot with my mom, and again with the expression, because Tommy gets impatient with photos as well. But my mom looks good!

I took a photo with my boy:

Tommy was all, "Can I be done?"

I said please, just a few more.

I got one with his diploma:

He took a photo in the shirt he got. I truly hope all his wishes come true:

And here's the sign he got:

I wanted to get one final shot of him with his Toy Story toys. He used to be obsessed with them. I thought about selling them at one point, but I couldn't. All I could think about was how he used to carry Woody and Buzz around. He had the slinky dog at one point, but it got so twisted that we had to get rid of him. For the longest time he was obsessed with Mr. Potato Head.

So no. I couldn't sell them.

And so they watched as our boy became a man.

We're all excited to see who he'll become.