Elena is a High School graduate

What started in the fall of 2009 has ended. Elena, our youngest daughter is officially a graduate of Clarkstown North, class of 2019.
   

   Elena followed what has become her usual pattern for school. Except this year she started out the year making us think she had been replaced with an exact duplicate who was interested in school and wanted to do well. For the first semester or two she was pulling a high B average. We kept asking who are you? Did someone switch you while we were sleeping? (I'd make a joke about pods and the horror movie Invasion of the body snatchers, but I don't think there is anyone alive who remembers that 1956 classic about the fear of communism) She was amazing. Sometime around January or maybe a little earlier because her second semester grades did fall a little it changed. At the time we did care, they were still amazing. I felt if she continued to do well like this maybe she would get accepted to a college that was better than RCC.
       The third semester our daughter returned and her grades fell into the toilet. It was so bad that the high 80's, low 90's average in English she had was not going to off set the bad third quarter and for a while lousy fourth quarter grades and she might not graduate with her class. So she again finally turned it on and it all ended well and good.
     

 Yesterday's (Tuesday,June 25,2019) plan was to leave at four-thirty and get to RCC before 5:15. I left work at three-thirty, Teri worked from home. I picked up my mother and was safely at home so we could all leave on time. Teri is, has become more so a person who can't, won't be late. It has gotten to the point that, well lets just tell the story. I'm taking pictures around four-thirty. Teri says we have to leave. I want her to be in a picture and she says we don't have time and so no picture of her at home with Elena. We get into the car on a bright sunshiny day that is a little too warm. It will be the first day the mercury will touch ninety. Last week we were having nights in the fifties. Teri starts to move and asks me if I know the back roads to RCC. I'm still a little pissed about the picture incident so I give an off handed yes. Nastia, proud she know the route offers to navigate and says go as if you are going to Davids.
   

 We take Lake road into New City, make a left onto Main Street and then a right onto Eckerson Road. Traffic is heavy and slow. We are crawling up Eckerson and time is moving faster than we are. Teri says something like she feels like she will vomit. Just a little east of West Clarkstown road Teri is about to have a coronary. She asks if I know another way. Having traveled these backroads for many years, but not having been on them for many years I give a guarded yes. I tell her to make the right onto West Clarkstown road. Teri starts right away where do I turn? I'm working on remembering the road, picking up landmarks and memories, trying to remember the route. God was with me and us. The route was simple and I remembered it. And the kicker was the traffic was light and we make it to RCC at what we think is five minutes late. We pull into the parking lot of the Fieldhouse. Kids in purple caps and gowns are still running around. It's a purple sea of soon to be graduates. Girls in big clunky heels are clopping around like Budweiser Clydesdales. Several year down the road they will all laugh at the shoes and wonder why they wore them.
 
   The Fieldhouse is crowded and warm, going to hot. Last year we got good seats and most all of my pictures were lost when I transferred them to my computer. This year I have hopes for better. It turns out we were not late, but we were also not early. All of the good seats have been taken and the ceremony was not scheduled to start until around six-thirty. We sit in an increasingly warm fieldhouse. I start to get sleepy. I put my head down and Teri asks if everything is ok. I answer yes. A few minutes later she asks if I am falling asleep. I answer that I am not able to because she keeps asking me questions or something like that. For all you kids in the audience, you never give your wife or significant other a wise ass answer when you are doing something that they feel is not appropriate for the surroundings. Yes, I pissed her off, again.
     
 Finally the proceeding begin. They start to call all the student, row by row to stand and walk forward and go behind the stands so they can make a grad entrance. It had finally begin. After a few moments some music started and from the other direction the class of 2019 starts to file in. Leading the group are the principle, advisors and students how graduated with special honors. After that the rest of the class in a mish mash order. I think it was the schools attempt to get away from alphabetical order.
     

When the class was standing in front of their seats everyone is asked to stand and say the pledge. Over the last few years the pledge has meant different things to me. After 9/11 I was intensely proud. When my daughters became citizens, I felt they had just become a member of one of the best places on earth to live. Now the pledge has become something that ultra conservatives have wrapped themselves in in defence from the far left liberals brand of new socialism. Leaving me in the center all alone. It's very empty here. Would someone want to join me please. It has worked for so long. Sorry for that pity party. I keep my mouth shut so much about it all that occasionally it leaks out.
     
 After the pledge, everyone sits. I was glad to stand for a moment. The Principle starts his speech.
I was pleased that he had a new one. Last years was OK, but I was pleased he took the time to write a new one. This years one was OK to and I was pleased that it didn't drag on for a long period of time like this blog.
       Next was the salutatorian and after that was the valedictorian. I looked it up and if you think about it it is obvious what they are. They are the first and second racking students in the class. After last year and this year I expect to never have to figure out how to spell these two words. For salutatorian, which I was saying wrong Google kept giving me Salvatorian fathers. While these two speeches were going on I was on my phone. I realized a the start of the first speech, I didn't have to listen. And I found the speeches annoying for some reason. I guess I have been jaded by sixty-one years of grads proclaiming the future is ours and seeing where I have ended up. It's not awful, it's just not what I expected. They began calling names a little while later
       I move from my seat and move forward and stand between two grandstands. Elena's row is next.  Nastia joins me a little before Elena's row gets up. I snap a few pictures more hoping to get the picture. Her group stands and I snap a few more. They move toward me and go down the outside isle to the front and stop waiting for their name to be called. Finally Her name is called. And as always they pronounce it wrong.  Ella na' Mule er' she gets it double. They can't pronounce either of her names. At least with me they got Joseph right. She accepts her diploma (really just the holder for it) she walks towards the center isle, stops for a picture and proceeds back to her seat. Her friend Jessica is in the last row and after she receives her diploma holder, she gets a high five from Nastia and she returns a big smile. A few moments later it is all over hats are thrown into the air a little half heartedly in celebration.

Some of the people who helped her

       I gather both girls and we start out. Teri, Nancy and my mom want to sneak behind the grandstand. I see the girls one moment talk to Teri and look again and they are gone. So I join Teri and we move behind the grandstands and wait near the door. After a little while I go looking for them and finally find them talking to some form teachers and administrators. As much trouble as she was in school everyone seems to love her and wants to be there for her. She has soo many people in her corner.
      She is given some gifts, a cat picture she hangs up in her room. There is some laughing, lots of happiness and finally it is time to leave. At the car Elena and Nastia have to go see someone and we are not ready to leave.
       When we finally leave we go to the Airmont Diner and have a very tasty dinner. Elena has a crazy shake she says was really good.

ENOUGH PICTURES!

        The night does not end there. Elena has the senior night event thingie. It's something new in the last so many years where the class go to a place and are supervised. They go from about 11 at night to about 4:30 in the morning. This year it was at West Rock in Nanuet. She played tennis, hung out with friend and had a real good time. About 4:45 in the morning we get a call, she is at the school. I get up and go get her. For someone who has been awake all night she is surprisingly awake. She talks on the way home about what she did. At home Teri calls her into the bedroom to hear her tell the story. Sometime around 5:30 everything quiets down and just as I fall asleep Teri's alarm goes off at 6.

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