Roots and Wings

No, I haven’t posted an article in over a week. Yawn, you’re thinking, figuring this is just another one of those lame posts about “why I haven’t written” and all that. It is. And here is the excuse.

Yesterday, my oldest child, graduated Valedictorian from Anderson High School right here in the eastern suburbs of Cincinnati. Big deal, right?

Not so. The kid has worked hard through all twelve years of his schooling. Taken a lot of grief for being an intellectual and scholarly, while not participating in any varsity sports. Take that back. He received a varsity letter for participating on the Academic Team, competing against other schools in the scholarly arena. It’s great that the school supports and values such competition, contrasted to all the emphasis placed upon other sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and so forth.

Now that I’ve digressed, let me get back on topic. It is a big deal that Joshua graduated! This father is very proud of what my son has accomplished. In addition to making it through school in one piece, to get the kind of grades he got takes a lot of tenacity and hard work, no matter how bright you are.

Josh should get the accolades. But then so should all the fine teachers, karate instructors, piano teachers, coaches, Sunday School teachers and all the people who touched him and others like him along the way. We invited his 6th grade teacher over to our open house last night, a person who really did make a difference with Josh. He was very vocal in his praise of my son, in turn, I commended him on his part in getting Josh to this point.

Truly, it was a day for Josh to shine. It was also a day to for my wife and I to take a quiet bow in the background for a job well done as parents. Along with a lot of other people helping, we gave him “roots and wings”.

And now he can soar.

And I can only watch in awe.