Caitlin's High School Grad Ceremony

Grad ceremony – For weeks Caitlin tried to psyche me out of going due to the insufferable heat in the gym. “A lady fainted last year and they had the
ambulance come get her.” I have a problem with any temperature over 20 C/70
F. As the previous 5 days have been 32 C I’m dreading the
worst. I actually called the high school to get the straight scoop. “Well,
the gym is not A/C but there are fans” Bullshit there were !
“And we will have water” Oh great, so when I faint you can drown me ! The
whole school has A/C but not the gym. So I asked about dress code. She
giggles. "So is it OK to wear shorts and a muscle shirt ?" Giggle. I
ended up sporting black slacks and dress shirt – drew the line at a tie.

D-Day – As mum and I are heading to the school we end up following a St.John
Ambulance. So, of course, I have to make the joke that I'm glad there will
be someone knowledgeable when I faint at the impending sweatfest. Mum and I
get there at perfect timing for her to get the primo parking spot for
minimal walking – she’s normally with cane now. We get seats at the back
cuz front filled. I quickly realize that I’m one of only a dozen men who
are wearing pants.

OK, let me appraise you of the situation – 200 kids graduating ( at dinner,
I asked Caitlin if we could change her last name to Adams so that we could
get the pomp and BS over with quickly – this evening reminded me why I
skipped out of my own HS and univ. grad ceremonies ) . Each with an average
of 6 friends/family attending – Caitlin’s stepsister had 14. So what do you
think is going to happen to the air in this H.S. gym with several thousands
of bodies and it’s 30 frigging degrees outside ??? Started at 7 pm – I went
outside at 6:45, where it was a tad cooler, to find The Ex, her mate,
mother-out-law, dad-out-law and brother-out-law making their usual late
entrance. I helped to guide them in to find that the final result was that
the group of them stood against the wall right beside me !!! Christ, what
did I do to deserve this ??? But I tried to be diplomatic and friendly. I
shoulda got a friggin' medal !

The beginning was introducing a plethora of teachers and local business
people to give out scholarships which made me think this was gonna turn out
like an Oscars production. Mom and I brought some mini battery-operated
fans that helped immensely. I ended up going outside, 3 times before they
got to the “P’s”, where it was starting to cool down and I could smell rain
coming ( when she was a kid I used to amaze Caitlin that I could smell rain.
We’d be driving and I’d stick my nose out the window and state “It will be
raining in 10-15 minutes”. “Are you a bloody Indian, Dad ? How the heck do
you know that ???” So I’d explain to her, and with knowing the general wind
directions, by the time she was 12 she could sense it too. ) Finally she
was called. I dashed up to the stage, desperately hoping that the batteries
in the camera wouldn’t crap out. We knew she was getting the sole
scholarship given out by the local retired teachers assoc ( $ 1,000 ) but it
turns out she also received $ 500 for a new one for literary works. ( Here
I thought I was the literary genius in the family but she is phenomenal !
She took "Writers Craft" this past semester and I am in awe of her stories
and poems ! Hopefully you will get an opportunity to read them ) When she
looked at me I thought she was so excited she would run over and give me a
hug.

Stayed to take pics of her best friend, then got out of there. Mom and I
went home to reminisce about how “our baby” had grown up so perfect. I am
incredibly proud of her !