Graduation Party
Eli 17.9 had his graduation party yesterday.There was an awards ceremony at school on Friday, and he won a $500 scholarship named after a former student (Chip Ridenour) who was loved by everyone. Here's the description:
...an annual memorial scholarship to honor those values and qualities which were central to Chip’s personality – the speed and ease with which he made, retained and nurtured friends; the obvious genuine regard for the dignity of each individual; and the ability to bring cohesion into even the most potentially divisive situation. His friendly conversation wasn’t just a gesture—it was sustained by a very real care and concern for all of his friends.
It made me very happy that Eli was considered, because the description reminds me very much of the person he's always been, even when he was young.
The graduation party was with his two best friends, one of whom lives across the street, and it was at their house, so big win. They'd already hosted two parties in previous years for their daughters, so the process had assembly line efficiency.
I'm so introverted that big gatherings are really, really difficult for me, but I stayed for all three hours and even had a good time for most of it.
The weather was lousy, like it always is (most popular phrase of lifers to people who are recent arrivals: "It's not usually this bad."), but in the last thirty minutes, the clouds parted and the sun started peeking through the trees. Eli was sitting next to me on a porch, and the sun was in front of us, and we just sat there for a while.
"I remember when we drove up here three years ago and I was scared to death," I said. "Not that I would have ever admitted that to you." He laughed. "And I know that some things didn't work out quite the way we hoped, but overall, this turned out pretty great."
He smiled. "It did, didn't it?" he said.
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