And We Have Lift Off

So I'm standing in my living room, with a camera, wondering who this drop dead knock out with the fashion forward super short haircut and an amazing figure, shown off by a sophisticated black and white dress, with nylons and high heeled black pumps, is.

Then she puts on her black robes and mortar board and pulls out a wand. Brandishing it around the room she announces she's graduating from "Hufflepuff.

Oh Yeah! It's definitely my daughter : )

And so began another 'Last'.

In a state of unreality we lined up in our seats at the Arena, strategically placed at the front so we could watch her face the whole time. We stand and wait anxiously to see her, and her boyfriend since Junior year,  walk together down the center aisle. And there she is! I nervously fiddle with my camera. I've been here before but every moment is precious because it's 'The Last'.

Once again we sit in our row, The SeaMonkey, Me, Biggest and Decent Guy and this time Middlest, all former students at the same school and happy that it's Finally Over, as is Littlest. A blank slate-well, only an outline, before us to be filled in with time. We see her trying to find us but we aren't where she expected, so we wave around a bit. Finally her boyfriend spots us and she grins. Excellent! We have a clear view of her face. We listen impatiently to the speeches, they aren't what we're here for. We three ladies actually get up to use the restroom during the orchestra concert because Biggest is pregnant and I'm old and I guess Middlest is just sympathetic, I don't know : )


At last the procession begins. We search out her friends as they pass and smile at them too. Some she's known since first grade, so the tug of nostalgia is very strong. The school principle has sternly warned everyone to observe decorum. The first few minutes this happens. Then, as is traditional in this school, one by one families begin to break the rules. A quick cheer here. A short shout out there. Mid asks if they can cheer. I say they really shouldn't. By halfway through it's total chaos, with whistles and roars and an air horn somewhere a few rows behind me. I turn to Mid and tell her, "You guys yell as loud as you want."

And finally my Littlest's row begins to move. She passes in front of us and glances up at our grins-and sticks her tongue out at us. That's our girl! Once again I'm fumbling with my camera trying to get the zoom right, nervous not to miss a moment while she stands to the side on stage and looks cool and calm as a cucumber and I feel like all the air has sucked out of the room.
Her name is called and cheers come from the direction of her boyfriends family but her dad and I just clap really hard and suddenly her sisters bellow out a huge OORAH! Simple and Perfect : ) I wasn't expecting that. She smiles. And I don't cry. I'm excited and my heart is full. But it's full of PRIDE.
 I can't believe my baby's all grown up but she's grown So Well! Then the principle says that he would like to honor the students who were joining the military by having them stand when he called their service. A Navy veteran himself, he finally called out what he called his 'second favorite service'
The Marine Corps. And my tiny girl stood, along with two young men, and that is when we came UNGLUED! Luckily we weren't thrown out : )

Congratulations to my 'Last' little girl!  My Strong Tough Amazing Young Woman with a Soft Heart inside. My Jiu Jitsu Champion. My Disney Song Singer. My Weight Lifter. My Cake Baker. My Bulldog Arguer. My Humble Achiever. My Most Shocking Public Language User. My Lover of Babies and Kittens. My Littlest. WE LOVE YOU BIG!

Thank You for rarely giving me a moments trouble...
 except over doing something worthwhile.... or shopping.

We Are leaving this LAST behind and lifting off into the NEXT!
Hang On Tight-This year is going to blast The Grounded Family into a whole new universe.

We Are Very Proud to Announce the High School Graduation of the Littlest Grounded!
I wish I could show you a picture but that would be Contraband.{ hint hint And you can only get contraband {hint hint if you find secret links {hint hint that lead to blogs{ that aren't listed in search engines and who knows where{ you might find one of those {  ; )



A Quick P.S. Unfortunately I have to travel this afternoon but will answer comments when I get back. See Ya!




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