Gradu-palooza!

Well, so the tall boy graduated from high school last weekend, and as you can imagine I'm very proud and a little freaked out. People, the space-time continuum is pissing me off, because this child was born about a week and a half ago. I just pulled into the driveway from dropping him off at pre-school, y'all.

But it seems I am a little mixed up about the calendar, because the entire month of June has been arranged to make sure that I practice my "so long, it's been good to know ya."

First, the tall boy was kissed good-bye by the entire varsity lacrosse team. The coach talked a lot of blah-blah-blah about the tall boy's dedication and hard work. He didn't mention the part about that lung collapsing over and over again . . . .

Then, at the orchestra concert he and his stand partner -- the only seniors in the ensemble -- were praised and glorified. Ask me to tell you some time the tragic story of the stolen viola. I mean really! -- who steals a viola?!

tangent: The stand partner -- who was in pretty much every class with the tall boy this year -- has been a great friend. When the tall boy was in the hospital, she gave him the sweetest gift: a cute plush version of his lungs, with the anatomically correct surgery performed using her own formidable surgical skills.

Somewhere along the way he attended a lovely Boy Scout function . . . .

. . . .oh! Did I mention to you that he's an Eagle Scout?!?

And then this weekend was the big event -- held at an indoor arena, praising Jesus -- because it was pretty stinking hot out side.

The tall boy examined his diploma pretty carefully -- it almost looked as if he wasn't sure it was a legitimate document. Does he know something about his grades that we don't know?!?

Afterward he was stopped by various females (love this one: funny, smart, beautiful) who were collecting digits.

Then he found his buddy, who was as happy to see the tall boy's Coke as he was to see the tall boy.

tangent: Check out the girl in the background, who was sobbing -- overcome by either the emotion of the moving Commencement exercises, or by the just tragically overwhelming heat. Hard to tell.

And then the parties commenced:

It's very hard not to adore this collection of ragamuffin tall boys.

And this one!

My godson -- he and the tall boy have been photographed together literally since the day my boy was born. And since that day one has been the tall boy and the other -- not so much. They've been friends forever, and everyone comments on their "Mutt and Jeff" appearance. And can I say that they are so gracious and loving, because neither one of them thinks it is particularly amusing, but they always smile and chuckle . . . .

Well, on graduation night, the godson said, "can you please make it look like the tall boy and I are not both mutant freaks?" (I'm paraphrasing.) This is the photograph that resulted.

And so is this one.