John Lennon sang “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

I find these words to be true and though I’m not one to map every hour of life in recent years I’ve kept a schedule of what to do, where to go and meetings to attend.

I don’t really notice time passing until some small incident snaps me to attention. For instance in Overwaitea recently I witnessed a little boy and his mom next to me in lineup at the till. I watched as he placed his purchase of a little car on the counter and waited patiently as I finished. Memories flooded my mind of the times I took my little boys shopping especially Brandon as inadvertently we would arrive home with one of those miniature vehicles clutched in his little hand. I said that to the boy’s mother and she responded saying yes, it was that way for them as well. We exchanged comments on how the number can add up, buckets of them she said. I then added that the years from two to 19 can pass awfully quickly and that she should enjoy her little son as much as possible.

This is a favorite time of the year for me. Having raised five children I recall looking forward to the ending of the school year in the elementary grades. I anticipated summer holidays when we could enjoy carefree days.

As they inched closer to grade twelve my feelings changed. I began to dread the end of the school year because it meant my children were that much closer to being out on their own. I cried buckets when I had to leave my first one in Calgary although we made sure she was living in the dorm on campus.

It didn’t get easier when the second, third or fourth one left to chase after an independent life. My heart repaired somewhat when the third one returned home but not so much when the fourth one moved across the country. Having Brandon in Cranbrook at the College and coming home every weekend has been a gift.

Next month is Graduation for grade twelve students in the Elk Valley. I get the privilege of saying a few words at the Grad ceremony here in Fernie and it’s always difficult to find the right words to say to those kids.

It’s a special day so they’re not interested in listening to boring platitudes. It’s the last day they will get to spend with fellow students and teachers. It is the last big party they will enjoy with their peers. No matter how close classmates remain it’s reality that life is changing for everyone including parents who are feeling empty nest syndrome and wondering where time went.

I’m sure I’ll come up with something that will satisfy but in today’s world I wonder what grad kids want to hear from adults. Do they really want us to tell them to work hard and get enough sleep?

On this distinctive day do they want to hear that life is tough and that even with a formal education there is no guarantee that a well-paying job is at hand.
I would express that each one should define what success means to them personally. Define what is of importance to them and not to look towards what others value, to realize that it is important to take risks to improve confidence and most of all to be nice. It is a cliché but it is important to be a nice person, no one wants to be around an angry, rude or obnoxious person.

But most of all I would say relax and enjoy the present-day, too often we lose sight of the present worrying about the future. Because take it from all parents, the future approaches all too quickly and years vanish in a blink of an eye. But most of all I would say Congratulations and Very Best Wishes for a wonderful prosperous life filled with much Learning, Love and Wisdom.

On another note this past Sunday an Angel was standing underneath the Burmis Tree. Nick turned around and I took a photo, it was a live person not a plastic figure but gosh what a lovely sight.