graduation

my school's graduation was yesterday. it was probably over 90 degrees and crazy humid and my kids were in black satin and velvet dresses, and i was in my black scholarly robe type thing. oh, and did i mention that the ceremony was outside? i think i have to say that sitting and sweating is one of my least favorite activities EVER. i suppose it was a blessing in disguise, as they sped through that ceremony in an hour and a half. SERIOUSLY shorter than normal, but still.

at least the guest speaker's speech was great -- we had the treasurer of the united states speak at our graduation (LOVE living near dc), and she was a mexican american who spoke of how you really could do anything -- she expected to harvest fruit all her life and somehow, through working hard and being piss smart, wound up as treasurer. that was pretty amazing.

usually i get very grandmothery and feklempt at these ceremonies, but i think the frequency with which i attend such events have started to render me immune. it really *does* start to sound all cliched after a while. the valedictorian's speech was sort of to that effect, too -- how not all graduation cliches are true, like how you didn't really learn everything in kindergarten, how there really are such things as stupid questions -- all sort of true, but it's not really the sort of uplifting message you're supposed to get at a graduation ceremony. i can't decide if i appreciate the honesty or wish we could continue on with the sugared encouragements.

this video always makes me feklempt cause it addresses my college graduation year, the class of 1999. i can distinctly remember being in the front seat on the top of a double decker bus, somewhere between vienna and prague, listening to this song on european choir tour the three weeks after college. and bawling my eyes out. i think it was the only time i really grieved the loss of college days. those really were the best days of my life (so far).