When Commencement Commences: Celebrating the Graduate

This month both of my children will be graduating–one from elementary school and one from middle school–and entering a new phase. It’s an exciting time that comes with anticipation, reflection and even a bit of sadness.

My daughter is going into high school and many classmates from the last nine years are going in different directions–new schools, new neighborhoods, new commutes, new friends. My son, on the other hand, is heading to a school where many of his friends will also be going, but he is about to forge into a new era of independence–commuting to and from school on NYC Mass Transit, and keeping us informed of his whereabouts via mobile phone, which is de rigueur today for city kids who are middle school age and above, but not yet reflexive to my little man who often forgets his glasses at home.

Focusing on what is to come can sometimes eclipse everything else, that said it’s also important to celebrate all that’s been accomplished and reinforce that even in change, there is also stability–they will always have a support system to love and cheer for them. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel was a soundtrack my Dad and I used to listen to quite often. The last verse of the closing song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” aka the Graduation Scene (featured image) goes something like:

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

Here are some gifts–some creative, some practical–to commemorate the moment and your graduate.

Guided Journals

Q&A A Day: 5 Year Journal ($16.99, Amazon) || Q&A A Day for Kids: 3 Year Journal ($16.95, Amazon)

5: Life Playbook ($10, Uncommon Goods)

Do One Thing Everyday That Scares You ($12.95, Amazon)