31 days: bo's graduation

rewinding back to early june, my oldest nephew, Bo, graduated from high school. i experienced such mixed emotions - proud of his accomplishments, sad that he'd be heading out of town for college, worry for my sister as she said goodbye...and of course, the realization that i was old enough to have a nephew in college. really???

ultimately, the emotion that always swelled to the top was pride. headed to not just any college. but the citadel. as an athlete. just super proud of the man he has become. it's hard to even believe it, but he truly is a man. it even feels weird to use the term "nephew" because, for me, that is associated with a child.

at the risk of slipping into a ridiculously cheesy moment...i totally remember the day he was born. hours on end in the hospital waiting room. and then, finally the word that my sister would have to deliver via c-section. only fourteen years old with practically NO knowledge of childbirth, i fell apart. my mom and a nurse, rushing to my aid (um, after giving birth, i realize how ridiculous this is...seriously, why were they worried about ME???). ginger ale and soothing words. 

and to be honest, i don't remember the first moment i laid eyes on bo. i was fourteen, and selfish. instead, i remember the moment i walked into my sister's delivery room and she said "hey boo". a nickname i had not been called in years. a reassurance that, despite the new addition to her life, i was still there. her baby sister. and still important. i doubt she knew how important that one word, "boo", would've been at that moment. but, nineteen years later, it's clear as day. (and for what it's worth...the nineteen years since that day have fulfilled that moment's expectation...she's a freakin' AWESOME big sister). 

so, in summary. congratulations bo. congratulations sherry & chip for raising an incredibly fine young man. despite making me feel old as dirt, i look forward to watching bo mature even more. bo, thanks for being funny and awesome and caring. we've always said he has an "old soul" and it still rings true.  

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this post is part of  a thirty-one day series.

my goal is to get my story telling groove back.

photos + words = chronicles

find links to all the chronicles here

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