Graduation Gap by Dina Ramon

This past weekend one of my dear friends posted a picture on Facebook of her lovely daughter – in her prom gown standing next to her date. The image obviously captured a momentous event but also made me chuckle; my friend is about to see her second child graduate from high school, and here I was getting my 7-year-old ready to go to a “Scooby-Doo Mystery” birthday party down the street. I remember when this same second child, as a pre-teen, held my newborn daughter in her arms when my daughter and I had just come home from the hospital. Yet another casual reminder that compared to several friends I’ve known the longest, I am still just starting out as a mom. While they have kids in high school and college, and have ‘been there, done that’ when it comes to parenting experiences, I feel a million miles behind them…. And that is just where I want to be. When we get together, I listen somewhat naively to stories about kids’ illegal house parties, applying for their drivers’ license, college road tours, and boyfriends/girlfriends. I can’t help but think what things will be like for my daughter when she is that age. On the other hand, my mind grinds to a halt when I start to go there. It is hard to think that far ahead, mainly because it is hard to accept that eventually that day will come, she will graduate and go off into the world, and I will be forced to adjust to that. Let the seniors enjoy their graduation celebrations. They’ve earned it and have so much to look forward to. Right now, I just want to enjoy the last few days of second grade, and treasure the moments that my little girl will let me hold her hand; it’s bad enough that she doesn’t automatically reach for my hand like she used to. Someday, in what will surely seem like the blink of an eye, she will be getting her own diploma. Hopefully, I will be ready.

Tags: graduation, mom age gap, older mom, parenting gap, second grade