Another Milestone

Seems like I'm not the only one reaching milestones around here... Last night, we attended the Grade 8 graduation ceremony at Connor's school.

It seems surreal that so much time has passed since this chubby cutie was crawling around on our floors.

He looked so handsome in his 3-piece suit and tie - my heart swelled with pride when I first saw him.

He's at such a pivotal point - heading off to high school next year, learning to make new friends yet again.  I hope he fully embraces the magic of high school and will participate wholeheartedly, just as his dad and I did when we were in high school.

I find myself relating to Connor's grade school years.  I, too, was slightly self-conscious, struggling to fit in with the "cool crowd", always worried about losing ground over something I did or said.  It wasn't until Gr. 8, that my best friend and I finally just said, "The hell with you all!" and decided to be ourselves and do what we wanted to do and say.

High school was such a different experience, because of this attitude.  And his vice-principal, Mrs. Bellaire, read a beautiful quote by Charles Swindoll that was so a propos for the occasion:

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important that the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more importance than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company... a church.... a school.... a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing that we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

Connor's come into his own this year in the same way that I did - still shy and reserved, but determined to stick to his beliefs.  I admire him for that.  I hope that he full embraces this passage, takes it to heart and learns to use his attitude to change the course of his life.

His teacher this year, Mme. Fazio, fully supported his creative ideas and encouraged him to use his skills in his presentations and projects all year.

Gary and I were both so proud to hear that he was awarded the Science and Technology award at graduation.  He truly is his father's son!

Way to go, Connor!  You make us proud, not only today, but every day with your compassion, kindness and integrity.  We love you - and look forward to your accomplishments today and always.

Cheers,

P/S:  Don't forget about the giveaways/challenges on my blog for a chance to win:
1,000th Blog Post giveaway (deadline:  June 30/13)

Sketchy Challenge:  June 2013 (deadline:  June 30/13)
Leave Your Legacy: Pet Peeves (deadline:  Aug 31/13)