Sweet Sissy/Auntie Lauren

Lauren graduated last night. I'm so very proud of her and the kind hearted, smart, beautiful and thoughtful person she has become.

Of course I cried. I tend to cry at events like these. I realized though, this was different. Here she was standing in front of me, with a perfect smile planted on her face despite the tremendous few years she's had. And how gracefully she handled the struggles thrown her way while trying to finish high school, apply to college, keep up with tennis and do all the other million things teenagers do at this point in their lives.

I cried because Dad wasn't there to see this amazing woman. A woman he spent his years raising, watching countless tennis matches, practices, communions, birthday parties. school functions and trips to the zoo. He was so proud of her. I was sad for her. Her Dad wasn't there. It was the first time in my life I understood both sides of something so significant; from the parent perspective, the child's and the sister.

But, as Dad would say, onward and upward. She's off to OU (there's still time to change your mind and go to OSU, just saying) in the fall. I can't wait to see what her future holds, and as someone at the long graduation ceremony said last night, what the rest of her story will be now that she'll be the author.

I love you, "Buttercup".