Yesterday was CVCHS's graduation. It was at the Concord Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater here in town. In 3 years, I will need to remember how bad traffic was last night. Get there at 3:30, not 5. Remember that all you need is that one "toot" of the air horn when Emma's name is announced. If it gets confiscated after, well...it really doesn't matter cuz you already used it. If she wants to sneak in a beach ball, let her. Part of the fun of the ceremony is watching security chase down the balls. Also, pay the $50 for the fresh floral leis. And make lots of candy leis. And let her wear heels and decorate her cap. Invest in waterproof lash glue and mascara.
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| Our friends and sweet boys, Noah, Kyle, and Marlon. |
Last night/today is also Grad Night. Brian and I volunteered to work it from 10pm till about 1 a.m. Initially, we thought it would be a kind of fun, late night out, just the 2 of us doing something new. It was pretty eye opening. The first questions we were asked as a group of volunteers were "who wants to do pat downs?", and "Any volunteers for Breathalyzers?" Security was super tight. Our local police were present in full force. The seniors came in single file and were checked in w/their photo id's, patted down and breathalyzer tested. Pockets emptied, shoes removed...the whole thing. If they made it past that, they were funneled into a smaller gym to wait for their buses. All the doors were blocked by parents, so once they passed security they were in our sight the entire time. There were 6 or 7, can't remember, of the huge, fancy, tour buses. 350 seniors and 20 chaperones then hit the road at a little after 1 a.m. for Disneyland. Once they arrive (should be about right now, 8 a.m.), they go through a separate back entrance of CA Adventure, where they go through another security search complete with drug sniffing dogs, metal detectors, and also there's a list of only 5 things they are allowed to have on them...it's cell phone, charger, student ID....2 more I can't remember, but it's bare bones. They are there till 12 a.m. tonight, and then head home. I should mention that the school pays for hotel rooms for the bus drivers, both here in town yesterday, and all day today, so that they can sleep and be ready to drive at night.
We are undecided at this point if Em will be making that trip, but at least we know security is tight! Oh, if you are wondering, Brian and I were security for the bathrooms. He had boys, I had girls. Seemed like good kids, and by the time they got to us, they couldn't have possibly had any contraband on them. Or at least I didn't see or smell anything.
Again, I say, I love this phase of mom-hood. High school is a blast. Complicated, stressful, all consuming....but also just fun. I'm so happy Emma has enjoyed this first year. She really put herself out there and got involved. Her HOSA trip to Sacramento, CERT training at the hospital, she ran for, gave a speech for, and now is the HOSA historian next year, she's opted in for all the optional events, had a ton of fun on her group projects, including filming act 3, scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet as a cowboy and Indian version, she embraced the themed spirit days, she gained a love of photography and most importantly...she allowed her parents to attend every home football game with her : ) I can't believe her freshman year is over! It's already going by TOO fast! Hearing the grad speeches last night was a good reminder to her, and us as parents, to enjoy these years! Real life is just around the corner, now. She's got 3 more years to squeeze as many experiences and as much growth as she can out of her high school years. : )
With that, today ends her Freshman year!
Wow! So different from my small school 42 years ago. Emma's a sophomore! Yikes!
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