Those
of you who have been to either or both of my other daughter’s graduation
parties know we always do a couple things.
The favorite tradition, by far, is the jagermeister shot with Oma and
all the grandkids and graduates…that is the highlight for many and talked
about long after our celebrations end.
We are German, we celebrate things and we celebrate hard…I am proud that
my mom is here to pass these little bits of our heritage on to the next
generation. Yes, it makes her the
coolest Grandma on the planet, but for me, it is so much more.
The
second thing I always do is give a toast.
I think it is super important, as a parent, to tell my girls how proud I
am of them. In this day and age, our
young women have enough of a daily barrage telling them they aren’t ‘enough’ so
when they come home, we provide a place for them to be who they are in their
heart of hearts. We laugh, sing, dance
and generally act like idiots most of the time, my goal to provide a place of
laughter and acceptance, no judgment, only love. When they screw up, theycertainly hear about it, they
are punished and we move on. When they
do well or face down a hard challenge, they hear about that as well….”You can
do it”, “We are proud of you”, “I am glad you did that”, are commonly heard
around here.
Graduation
provides us a unique opportunity, while surrounded by family and friends, for
us to publicly congratulate and praise our children. We have the chance to say, for others to
hear, what we sometimes only whisper in our children’s ear. For Micaela and Rylee, I relished the
opportunity to thank them, praise them and wish them well as they left the safe
haven of 1014 Rose Circle and embarked on their next challenge. It is my intention to do the same now, for
Lainey. Forgive me for the length of
this….I can be a bit sappy at times. My sappiness is tripled as my last
little birdie leaves the nest and spreads her wings with me watching from
behind. I think this realization is why
I have struggled so with composing this.
So,
on my fifth attempt at writing what is supposed to be a ‘toast’ for Lainey, I
said to Steph, I am just going to write from my heart and see what I come up
with. The result is what you are reading now and what I read at Lainey's graduation party the other night. I realize it is not a "toast",
but for Lainbae, I just couldn’t quite capture all she has meant to me in a
short toast.
Here
goes….to Lainey
From
the moment you were born, your personality was pretty much set - content to
suck your thumb and watch the chaos around you, as long as your belly was full.
Only the sucking her thumb part has changed, as the phrase “I’m hungry” is said
about 5 times a day and anyone who knows her knows that a Hangry Lainey is not a nice Lainey. Having three babies in three years meant my
time for you was often rushed, your time as a baby a blur of diapers and
bottles and your sisters. I do remember
distinctly, how much I enjoyed my time with you when you would wake up in the
middle of the night. You were so sweet,
you would eat and smile at me and we would steal away some special one on one
time before the sun came up and interrupted our very delicate dance.
As
you grew, you proved that, while you are one of us, you are also very uniquely
your own and I am proud to say that has not changed. Often at the forefront of most of our family
laughs you also often silently observed your sisters and me and our
interactions, learning valuable lessons as the youngest often do. Probably a combination of birth order, me
having experience, your personality and the lessons you learned made you ‘easy’
as I like to tell people. Or maybe after
Rylee and, especially, Micaela, I was just tired, maybe they wore me out….I am
not sure I just know, to me, you were easy from the first day we brought you
home from the hospital, and that never
really changed.
 |
| Best Friends |
 |
| Shoulder Surgery 2017 |
High
school had many difficulties for you but you handled every challenge with grace
and class, two things that are missing from a lot of today’s youth. Friendships stolen, athletic trials that
would have broken a lesser spirit, academic challenges you worked to overcome,
physical injuries that left you frustrated and mad….however, every single time,
you picked yourself up, dusted yourself off and went about making the best of
it. You made a whole new group of
friends, you lead the charge to make a change for the betterment of those coming
behind you for NDA volleyball, you arranged tutoring to help you get the grades
you wanted and you played with pain for your team, you rehabbed to the point of
exhaustion and you did it all as a champion for yourself, while also being a
shining leader for your peers and for younger girls who look up to you – making
the choices that made your life better, not waiting for someone else to do it
for you. These things, my dear daughter,
will carry you forward in life. For all
of this….I am so proud to call you mine and I am so pleased to share you with
the world.
As
you graduate and enter this new phase of life, I wish for you these things:
· *
That
your confidence, in not only your talent
but also in your ability to work hard, will let you soar to heights you never
imagined possible both in volleyball and in the classroom.
· *
That
your spirit never gets broken, no matter how much you get kicked around by
life.
· *
That
you find love in the form of new friendships, new teammates, new coaches and
new experiences.
·
*That
the little girl who brought us Mr. Electric, the Reds foam finger, constant
laughter, and has shown me so many new ways to face the challenges of the world
- has the chance to shine through at Wright State and beyond – never change who
you are.
·
*That
the memories I have of you and me, our duets in the car, my great snapchat
stories, the highs and the lows of sports, hotel stays, long car rides, mulching
2018 and so many more will boost you up when you are down, just like they do
for me.
Finally,
these last two years of just the three of us being home, of me being able to
focus mostly on
you have been times I will cherish forever. Without knowing it, I made up for the time we
may have lost when you were a baby, it's funny how God worked it out like
that. I am going to miss you, there I
said it, my happy little baby heading out into the world. You are ready, you can do it and we will be
right behind you cheering the entire way.
After all the Raider Rig is gassed up and ready to go!
I
love you,
Mom
