Graduation day

Certainly for anyone born on May 27th, this is a day that carries obvious significance. However, for a certain few, this is a day that simply may come and go without fanfare, but for me, it was another step in the journey of life. May 27th marks the 32nd anniversary of my college graduation from the "Zoo", aka UMass, Amherst. Frankly, there isn't anything too special about the day for me either, except that I remember my sister and her husband were unable to attend because she was in the final days of her confinement with their first child. She was expecting, and this was going to be the first grandchild for my parents. Naturally, the whole family was excited about this, so my sister was given a "written excuse" for her absence.

However, when she graduated from college we were all "expected" to be there because, except for my parents, none of us went to her HS graduation. In retrospect, it's now time to say I am sorry for not going to yours. After all, she was the only one who attended Amesbury HS but not actually in Amesbury. The old Amesbury HS burned down in 1964, and it took the "confounding" fathers 2-3 years to determine the site for the new school. By the time construction was completed, this sister had attended all of her 4 years of HS in the neighboring town, long bus rides and no physical building to call her "alma mater". However, she persevered and starred in her Senior class play, "Pride and Prejudice", making us all very proud, as we sat in the front rows of the Town Hall auditorium.

To my older sister, my mother's carbon copy, thanks for enduring the disappointment of not having us there on your graduation day. You played Elizabeth Bennett on stage, but off stage, you have been larger than life, and for that, I have been forever grateful. Happy Graduation Day, even though I am a little late!