Onward and upward continues...

The first week of summer is complete. It began with a true milestone event, Bailey's high school graduation. He had rehearsal first thing Monday morning. He went with friends. They grabbed breakfast, headed downtown and then back to a friend's house after to hang out for a bit. He called for ride home, since he had carpooled and hadn't driven himself. He wanted some downtime before the actual ceremony. Around 4:00 o'clock (mind you, we had to leave at 5:00 to get downtown), Bailey announced he wasn't going to his graduation. I'm not sure what changed or happened, but what I do know about Bailey is this: he hates crowds, he hates being the center of attention, he hates ceremonial traditions just for the sake of traditions. I was still shocked! I told him had he asked me two weeks ago if he could skip it, I might have been able to deal a bit better...but waiting till an hour before? After lots of talking, a bit of mommy guilt and some tears, he decided to go. He was angry...but going. I'm not going to lie...it made it tough to sit there and enjoy his success, when I knew he didn't want to be there. I do think he must have been a bit proud of himself, because there was a slight smile from him,when it was his turn on stage. He literally did not want any pomp and circumstance after either. Even though I had high hopes for lots of fabulous photos, it didn't quite happen. This boy of mine, has always been brilliant, determined and oh so stubborn. He has a special way about him, that you either understand or don't. Luckily...we do understand and love him unconditionally.

* Note...some photo quality is not the best. It's a big place. Unfortunately, my phone camera does not zoom as well as I'd like, and we no longer have a high quality SLR camera.

With a little convincing, he let me make a simple graduation announcement.

Before the ceremony...His class is about 800 students. Our school district, Northside, rents out the Alamodome for the week and holds two ceremonies a day.

Bailey is in the white sash, with a "bib". Each sash represented their achievements. White was for graduating Cum Laude, which means a GPA of 95-96.99. The bib represented the National Honor Society. They also announced his scholarship "Top 25 Presidential Scholarship" to Texas Tech University.

He's smiling! (I think!?)

After the ceremony...He really hated the cap and gown. He took it off immediately.

I can't believe how nice the Diploma is...pleather bound, satin embossed emblem, beautiful paper. don't know where my diploma is, but I know it wasn't this nice!

Northside also does a live webcast of the ceremony, which is a nice bonus. When we got home, we could still rewind and catch a closer glimpse of Bailey. It's still grainy because it's a photo of the computer screen...but it's a closer view. 

There's no looking back now...college here he comes! His Texas Tech orientation is July 29-30th, where he'll register for classes. August 18-19 he'll move into the dorms. Classes begin August 27. We will spend time this summer getting ready...in more ways than one.