Wednesday 25 October 2017

Last day @ High School...my very own "Groundhog Day" victory!

Hi Diary,

Five years ago (I can't believe it's already been this long!) I wrote an article on what "Day 1 @ High School" felt like for a mom. The link is here...


It's been five years and in a couple of weeks it will already be his last day of school! Back then I struggled to let him go and I must admit, I sometimes still do. But I have learnt a thing or two. 

Walking a child through high school is not only about learning and growing for him or her; it's for the parents also! In these last five years, I have dropped him and picked him up from school about 2500 times and frequently waiting for him in the parking lot has gradually taught me some much needed lessons. You don't understand? Perhaps this will help.

Great movie - watch it!
Many years prior to him starting high school, I have watched an American movie called Groundhog Day - a comedy starring Bill Murray as "Phil", a weatherman, who is out to cover the annual emergence of the groundhog from its hole. Phil gets caught in a storm that he didn't predict and finds himself trapped in a time warp in which he is doomed to relive the same day over and over again, until he gets it right. But in order to "get it right" he has to re-examine his life and priorities. Critics say that Bill Murray "shines in this good-natured comedy that delivers lots of laughs and some honest sentiment".

Yes, that just about sums up my past five years! Because for the past five years, it seems that I have "covered" the daily emergence of my son from his room in order for me to drive him to school. Like Phil, I seemed to get caught in a storm I could not have predicted, except, I call it the "teenage storm" and in the midst of it, I seemed to have gotten stuck in a time warp of my own. I have lived day after day during high school trying to "get it right" and I have finally learnt that my attitude towards my son and others around me really is crucially important! Just like Phil, I ended up re-examining my life and my priorities several times.

High school, like the movie Groundhog Day, can be a good-natured comedy with lots of laughs, but it certainly also produces some honest and profound sentiments. The teen years are not over yet and neither of us has passed all the tests that were presented to us 100%, but we have both grown up.

Soon the clock will turn over one more time as it did in the movie and both him and I will go "free", we will move on. Hopefully remembering all we have learnt. Not only the Math and the Science, but also the way we ought to relate to and support each other. 

Soon he is leaving high school for the last time and I wish him and every other child that is leaving with him that their path will be full of hope and mystery and that they will conquer their future victoriously! I am proud, as always, to be his mom!

P.s. Two months from now, it will be his sister's first day at high school and this time I will know what to expect, thanks to him and other moms who have encouraged me. It will now be my honor to encourage other "first time" moms! 


HAPPY FINAL EXAMS EVERYONE!   


3 comments:

  1. Super post, Sue. Every blessing as you prepare for your son's final day at school. I chuckled when I read how you're prepared for your daughter's first year of high school. Beware! They are probably very different kids. She'll have some surprises waiting for you! But somehow, you'll survive, and so will they!

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    1. Thank you for the (much needed) encouragement Shirley! It's been quite a journey and somehow it is great to start right at the beginning again. Almost like a 2nd "do over". Looking forward to it! I appreciate your comments.

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  2. Thank you so much for your positive feedback! I really appreciate!

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