Graduation

Lately, as I drive around on the weekends, I notice balloons tied to mailboxes, white tents set up in backyards, and cars parked along the roads and in fields. Ahhhh…the much anticipated graduation parties. Thinking about being a graduating senior sure makes me smile. I remember how exciting it was for me.

I graduated in 1979 from Leo High School in the little rural community, Leo, Indiana. How rural, you ask? Amish rural. 

I moved to Leo at the start of my junior year, having lived my life up until then, in Waukegan, Illinois, and attending large schools like Jack Benny Jr. High School and Waukegan’s West Campus High School. Waukegan is just north of Chicago, with both cities residing on Lake Michigan’s western shoreline. From the beach in Waukegan you can see Chicago’s magnificent skyline. You can only imagine the very real culture shock of moving to Amishville. I mean, Leo. It wasn’t an easy adjustment, especially at that age.

Last night I felt like listening to Christopher Cross. This album was released on December 27th, 1979, the year I graduated. I like every song on that album which, for me, rarely happens. 

When listening to the voices of Christopher Cross and of Steve Perry (Journey), of Don Henley and Glenn Frey (Eagles), and of John Denver, I find myself back in Waukegan. I’m tucked in my bed with a gentle breeze blowing over me from my open window. I hear train whistles to the west and ship and fog horns east on Lake Michigan. And I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming those young girl dreams of finding love and the freedom of the open road. At that time, I would have headed west and kept going until I either found love or there was no more road left to travel. 

Then we moved. And it was east. New high school, new friends to discover, a new life. But the thing that remained constant was my music. It followed me wherever I went like a warm, security blanket. And amazingly, my new-found friends enjoyed the same music. 

Those were the years. And how excited we were to graduate. It’s something we had looked forward to for four years and we finally made it. High school graduation is the first of many wonderful highlights throughout life. 

My youngest son told me the other day how much he misses being home and being in school. (I homeschooled my children.) He said he didn’t realize it at the time but those were the best years of his life. I totally understand. Those young, carefree years went stinkin’ fast. Adulting can be hard. 

As I see the signs of graduation this year, the young girl in me gets excited. It wasn’t so long ago that I had the heart of gypsy, or maybe it was that of a hippie. A free spirit. A girl who wanted to get out and discover new and beautiful places, find love, and live carefree out on the road, heading west, and without parental rules…after graduation. 

Funny how some dreams just remain dreams when reality hits you in the forehead the day after graduation. But it’s all good. Anytime I want, I can reach inside and feel, quite intensely, those wild, adventurous, and exciting dreams of my youth. And I love the young girl who is still very much alive but kept safe deep within me. She makes me feel young again.

What a turning point in life…the day after graduation. 

♥️

Andi