Always In The Stands

Saturday evening our firstborn and only daughter graduated from highschool. It was a day of celebration and we wondered if we would make it through the entire day without getting emotional. Bailey completed her senior year in the top 10% of her class of 746 seniors. She graduated with honors and we could not be more proud of her. She hasn't been emotional at all about completing this last year of school. I haven't seen any tears. She's was just so ready to be finished, as were most of her classmates. The graduation ceremony took place at the football stadium and so needless to say, it was a casual event. Friends and family whooping and hollering at the graduates, balloons floating up aimlessly into the stadium lights, parents laughing and snapping pictures of their babies. It was more of an evening of celebration and the thought of the grand step out of a simpler part of their lives into a much bigger, more complicated part didn't seem to be on the mind of anyone. After reading the names of all 746 students and each one crossed the platform to receive their diplomas, the evening finally came to an end with the caps being tossed into the night sky. HOORAY! As the crowds began to exit the stadium and pour down onto the football field to congratulate the graduates, I stood up on my seat so Bailey could see me and we could exit the stadium together. My camera ready to go, I began snapping pictures of the crowd. It was during the mayhem that I saw my sweet, young Bailey fighting her way against the crowd. People moving one way, Bailey moving the opposite direction. She kept looking up into the stands, searching for our faces. All at once, the emotion of that day hit me like a wall of water that began to flow down my cheeks. My baby was being pulled away and she was fighting so hard to get back to me. Her future passed before my eyes as I realized how much she will always miss her childhood and the simpler times of highschool. She will have her memories and they will always penetrate her mind as through the years her friends will move away, get married, have children, and some will pass into eternity long before their time. This part of her life was officially over and she was trying desperately to get back to me. I still weep thinking about that moment. I pray that Bailey will always look to me and her daddy with those same bright eyes that I saw that night. Time will eventually pull her into her own life but no matter where she goes, her momma and daddy will always be standing there in the stands, cheering her on, snapping pictures, and cheering for her success. We love you, Bailey!