Rad Grad

File this one under the category of….”Did that just happen?”

Grad Night 2015. I remember it as if it were….yesterday, and not just because it actually WAS.  The long-awaited (dreaded?) day was upon me, my son Evan was ready to take on the world. As a parent, it’s a night that you invariably think of throughout the course of your child’s life. While I’ve been so looking forward to it, so proud of my son and excited for his future, it’s also one of those landmark, lifetime events that, as a parent, it just engulfs your mind and soul with thoughts and emotions  racing around like a roller coaster in the dark.  The closer you get to the big day, the more frequent, and faster, they become. I knew I was in for a rough evening and a mixed bag of emotions, but I was ready to take it all in.

With the ceremony set to begin at 7:30, I pulled into the parking lot of the high school just after 5pm, wanting to make sure I got a good seat. I had “been there done that” two years prior with my firstborn son, Brennan, so I knew how quickly the line would form.  It was your typical California June afternoon – hot. With temperatures in the low 90’s and no overhead shelter, I joined other parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and friends in line. Two hours standing in the sun? No problem!  Some enterprising, female soccer students came around every half hour or so with a cooler full of bottled water for sale. Nice job girls. A Mother and her two young daughters came by as well, selling “candy leis”…presumably to place on the grad student’s neck, although perhaps a light supper for anyone in line who was hungry enough to “go there.”

Did I mention it was hot? After an hour and a half or so, someone collapsed in the parking lot from heat exhaustion.  There’s nothing like a fire truck and ambulance on the scene to make time pass a little quicker!  While we were all concerned about the person and hoped they were okay, I’m pretty sure we all had the same thought at the time: firemen and EMT’s…..don’t go anywhere, any of us could be next. Many people in line had brought umbrellas, and while my first thought in such a case is usually sarcastic in nature (Dude, its 90 degrees out and sunny. Real cavemen don’t use umbrellas!), I found myself secretly wanting to sneak under various umbrellas for a few stolen moments of shade until I got kicked out.  Alas, the line finally started moving, and like cattle we began slowly began making the trek towards the stadium.

My early arrival did in fact guarantee me a good seat. I was in the “Parental VIP Section” on the field, directly behind the graduating students, along with my ex-wife. My son had told me he’d be in the last row, and I was able to secure a couple of seats in the front row of the VIP area…..the “mosh pit”. Hence, it was pretty cool, because Evan was only about 30 feet from me. Happy Dad.  We saw dark clouds coming in, and lo and behold, there was a 30 percent chance of rain, according to my weather app. While my ex-wife was worried about this, I told her it simply meant there’s a 70-percent chance it’s NOT going to rain, and to relax. One or two eye-rolls from her later, and the ceremony was under way.

They bring out the “big boys” for high school graduations. The entire school board was up on the stage, along with foreign dignitaries, heads of state, and members of the Royal Family. Well….the school board was there anyway. The school’s choir sang the National Anthem, the student body president gave a brief speech, and then the principal came to the podium.  “Ladies and Gentleman, welcome. In light of the impending storm, we’re going to mix things up and pass out the diplomas FIRST, after which point we’ll have the speeches if weather permits.” I was incredulous at first. Is she serious? Chicks, I swear. Just then, a HUGE roar of thunder came…thundering down, and I thought perhaps she was onto something. The clouds seemed darker, the wind started picking up, and lightning could be seen at what appeared to be very-close range. I was facing the stage of course, but everyone on the stage was facing towards the crowd, and could see the clouds moving in behind us. Upon hearing that diplomas would be handed out first, the students erupted in shouts and applause.

Wasting no time, the first row of students  were released, walked  up, and  it was go-time. There were four  teachers responsible for calling out the students’ names as they received their diplomas, two on either side of the podium, with the students split on either side. “Michael Kenneth Crabtree.” “Emily Jane Scott.” They were calling the names FAST, just a second or two between students, and the kids seemed to be hurried a bit, although I’m sure they were all just stoked and caught up in the moment. Next thing you know, the second row of students was up there, and the names seemed to be announced a bit faster. The wind was picking up, and I could hear some “ooohs” in the crowd who had seen more lightening, not far behind the crowd seated in the aluminum bleachers. A guy could be heard saying “those people (bleacher crowd) need to get out of there!”, but it was all lost in the hurried rush of festivities. Yikes…..he has a point, I thought.

It quickly became apparent that there would be no speeches given on this evening; the sky was going to fall any minute. My main concern at the time was just wanting the rain to hold off until Evan, seated in the last row, could (dryly) have his moment. Sure enough, that’s what happened. In a harried flash, and not what a parent envisions, his name is called, and while I was still shouting my “whoop whoop!”, the next student’s name was already being called. But the smile on Evan’s face was good enough for me. Everyone made it back to their seat, the principal announced that “this was it” and that all speeches would be done Monday morning and placed on the school’s website for all to see who might not be able or desire to come back. Great back-up plan, I must say. The next thing I knew, all of the royal blue caps were being tossed wildly into the air, and it was over. Within 3 minutes of THAT, I felt a little drop from the sky…

Before I knew it, it was pouring. If you’ve ever been to a high school graduation, you know that the moments afterwards are inherently crazy, with students wanting to find their friends for what could be final goodbyes, parents rushing in for photo-opps, and just a general crazy-fun atmosphere. With an intense rain coming down however, and lightning very close by, well……let’s just call it MAYHEM. While there were a decent number of students staying on the field and posing for pictures, the vast majority of people started moving towards the exits. And in a flash, it was all over before it began. I walked past one dad who was casually strolling along under his umbrella. Nice job dude. Turns out, you umbrella-people are smarter than me. Who knew?

At the time, it all seemed so crazy, with people laughing, smiling, and just a general “this is one night we’ll NEVER forget” type of feeling. On the one hand, it was kind of a relief in the way it ended. It was intense, it was fun, everyone was drenched but generally in great spirits. It wasn’t until I was home alone with my thoughts that I couldn’t help but feel “robbed” somehow. As much as I had mixed feelings about the evening in the days (and years) leading up to it, I was ready to DO THIS.  But now, I was feeling a little cheated out of some special moments, and I also felt bad for the students who inevitably must have felt the same way. Some probably never had a chance to say their goodbyes on that field, because it was just chaotic. Some parents never saw their kids on the field either, but they headed for cover just outside the stadium and waited for their kids to pass by.

We can plan and prepare for something our whole lives, and in the end, invariably, it MAY not go according to plan. In a twisted, metaphorical kind of way, there’s a great life lesson there for the graduating class of Rocklin High School 2015.

Welcome to the real world, kids.

Now go out there and kick BUTT!