On Wednesday, my middle daughter, Sydney, flew into Denver at the crack of dawn.  I picked her up and went directly to the the drive thru for IV bags of caffeine at Starbucks.
High on caffeine, we drove to Boulder to begin a day of marathon dress shopping for the big day.  Approximately 30 dresses later we found the perfect fit and color for the graduate-to-be.  I was already in need of a nap, but we opted for a hearty lunch to fuel the second half of our day.Alex had invited us to her African Dance Final at 4:30.  It is customary to invite family and the community to celebrate, dance and share a meal at their final meeting.  I can’t even begin to describe the energy and joy in that room and the dancing?  I think the professor said it best:

“true dancing is when you are no longer dancing with your head, but your body takes over.  There is just joy being expressed through movement.”Throughout the two hours we all danced, but these college students danced so hard I thought it might rain inside the building.  Their energy was electric and to be there to watch my daughter literally dance through her final moments of her undergraduate program was priceless.  We should all be so fortunate to end every chapter dancing.

Our week continued with the grandparents flying in the next day.  We all met for dinner and shared stories and plenty of laughter. Our family had not all been together since Christmas and we hadn’t seen some of the grandparents since last summer.  It took a while for all of us to catch up and dinner lasted way longer than normal. This is how dinner should be with the family. There were no phones, just great conversation, cameras and delicious food.

Friday was the big day and we were all up in the predawn hours to get ready, have breakfast, and drive to campus. We made it in time to watch all of the graduates march into the stadium.  Standing there watching it was difficult to believe four years had passed. There were the Boulder floods, roommates, dorms and apartments, several moves, football games, calls home, dates, break ups, friends, independence, tears, laughter, parties and too many classes to count.  And these were just my memories. It felt like a blink of an eye and now it was time to celebrate her achievements.

And celebrate we did.  There were friends, photos, cake, ice cream, a post-graduation dinner, gifts, champagne toasts, many thank yous, music, a cookout and a Mother’s Day breakfast to end the festive weekend.

What more could a parent ask for?  I am so grateful for Alex and to everyone who made these last four years an amazing ride.  Here’s to her next chapter.