Reviewing My Son's High School Graduation

As mentioned yesterday, my son officially graduated from high school yesterday. And as mentioned yesterday, it is really hard to believe that this day came as soon as it did. Frankly, it does not even feel that long ago when I graduated from high school Hard to wrap my head around the idea that my son's high school days are already just memories.

Still seems like he should by all rights still be very young, just a child. Guess you really have to go through getting older to understand just how quickly the time can pass. Not sure why that is, if it' the level of repetition, or just some strange phenomenon that happens as we get older. How the same amount of time - say, a year - can feel like an eternity when you are very young, yet which flies by once you are older, just seems strange. 

Before he was born, it felt surreal. Still admittedly feeling a bit like an overgrown child myself, it seemed impossible to imagine myself as being ready to be a father. That felt like it would be an enormous responsibility, and I would be lying to suggest that I felt ready to meet the challenge as the time approached. It remained difficult to believe, even as the signs that the time was fast approaching - like his mom's swelling belly - should have made it clear. Even on the day he was born, I felt at first overwhelmed. I held him for the first time, cut the umbilical cord, and accompanied him to the room where they gave him shots before giving him what they described as a necessary nap in a room with other newborn babies. 

Yet it was on that day when he and I made our first real connection as father and son. Everyone had been taking turns holding him. It was my brother's turn, but my son began crying. So my brother handed him off to me, and for some reason, I began humming. This got my soon to stop crying and to open his eyes. He reached out with his tiny hands, and grabbed the finger which I held out to him. If there was a single moment when the reality that I was now truly a dad became a reality, that was it. 

Everyone has heard people saying of kids, "They grow up so fast." When you yourself are a child, you may roll your eyes, because it always seems like it's old people who say things like that. As you grow older, on the other hand, you really begin to see the reality of this. Indeed, it feels like he should still be a young child, a little boy. Yet I look at him, and it is undeniable that he is, in fact, a young man.

I had always imagined what his high school graduation might be like. Then when it actually came, it proved to be nothing like what I had expected it to be like. 

Yet, since it is real, it is better. 

Becoming a father changed my life. And seeing him grow, sharing these milestones with him, has been such a huge reminder of just how lucky I am. The older I get,t he more it feels I need to have gratitude for what I have been blessed with, and he is the greatest blessing of my life.

With this biggest milestone yet, in my opinion, I wanted to share not only pictures of the graduation ceremony itself, but also some pictures which show glimpses of who he is, and who he has been through the years. From when he was still a little baby, to a young and somewhat mischievous (at times) little boy, to the young man who makes me so proud today, below are some of the pictures we have taken of him along that journey.

Enjoy. 

My son's first grade yearbook and class photo from academic years 2012 - 2013:

So here they are. I ordered my son's senior year pictures, and they finally came in.

Initially, my son and my ex were complaining about them. But I have to say that I actually really like them quite a bit!

We got two "free" smaller copies of different pictures, so I chose one where he was wearing his graduation gown, but not the cap. Somehow, he looked a bit strange with the cap, and it seemed like a good idea to show one with his hair, which admittedly was a bit longer. But that's fine, in any case. It's not a bad hairstyle.

These are the pictures of my son, pretty much as he appears now. Very handsome! And I know this will make me sound old, but I just cannot believe that he's grown so much, that my little boy is already, quite literally, a young man!

He makes me very proud!

I believe this was the first picture of my son and me together, from the day that he was born, I believe! It is my favorite baby picture of my son, then only a baby, and I'm reposting this, and a bunch of others, for this, his 11th birthday. Simply amazing how quickly the time flies, and even more incredible to think about just how much a new life can grow and change your life forever, and for the better. He was a miracle, and his presence in my life has added such meaning, such focus, and such a sense of gratitude, that words hardly do it justice. But for now, I am just happy to have shared so many great memories with him, including on this day, his 11th birthday!

My favorite baby picture of him! Ridgewood, NJ - 2005.

One of the days when I brought my son, who was still a baby, to work with me. Not sure what time of the year this is. Guessing this was sometime in 2006.

This picture was of me and a student in my class. We were both dressed like hippies. From the Deron School 2005 Yearbook, picture from Halloween 2004. 

This was a picture of my son's first Halloween outfit. Originally, I wanted to be Dr. Evil, and for him to be dressed as Mini Me. But I ran out of time, and so got a baby Darth Vader outfit for my son, and used the Darth Vader outfit that I had from a year or so earlier, and we went as matching Darth Vaders. Picture taken from the Deron School 2007 Yearbook, Halloween, 2006.