full circle....

i would love to replay the moments of last night over and over again.

the minutes as we wait patiently for our oldest to graduate from this school we've loved so much -

rgs is truly a special place.

i brought a box of tissues 

expecting that as the slideshow played i'd tear up watching how much our babies have grown -

thankfully it was alphabetical so by the 'd's' i had used up my tears.

mrs. lucas takes the stage and begins the ceremony

with twelve specially chosen awards to be presented.

i get comfortable and admire my daughter,  proud of who she has become.

the first award is for 'most improved' and i hear zoe's name called

yes, i'm proud but really didn't think much of it.

then i hear her name called again

 a character award where she was chosen by her classroom peers - wow!

again, 'excellence in music'- i'm thinking to myself, really?  who knew?

then comes the principal's award

i hear her name again and see

zoe walk onto the stage

 my eyes begin to water

as quoted from courage, a book presented to her 

''zoe, 

there is a term i use to describe you, 'old soul'.  you have the kindness, wisdom, intelligence, and compassion of a wise woman rocking in her chair.  i know your future is bright.  i know i will cross paths with you again.  mrs. lucas"

i am beaming with pride

lastly i hear my girls name called once again 

this time for an award that shows just what her moral compass is

 i look over at craig and he too has tears in his eyes

it's at this defining moment 

when all our self doubts as parents are washed away

we look at each other and know that for all the things we do wrong in our lives

the bad decisions that have caused us to struggle

that the one thing we are doing right

is the most important thing

and that's raising our children 

 with the strongest of convictions, morals and values

that our goodness as people 

and always doing what's right 

truly does come full circle

as attested to by our daughter who has made us so very, very proud.