Graduation Day

She did it! She finally graduated from high school!

Rachel is a wonderful daughter. I can't imagine what my life would be like without her in it. She can be both serious and funny, pleasant and moody, intense and aloof. She's a talented singer, an entertaining sister, an English language fanatic, a loud laugh-er, a devoted friend, a faithful employee, a daughter of God, and an all around amazing young woman.

This year I've watched in awe as Rachel has devoted herself to her homework. Night after night she sat on the sofas in our living room. On one hand I often got tired of looking at the books, paper and her laptop computer spread across the living room floor. On the other hand I was grateful that I had a daughter that didn't need to be nagged to get her homework done (although I'm sure she'd say that I did my fair share of nagging). I often cried silent tears of pride as she persaveered hour after hour, night after night to understand what she was learning in her AP calculus class. I can say without hesitation that she is far better at math than anyone else in our family. Even though high school wasn't much fun for her and she eagerly anticipated her completion, she stuck it out and worked hard until the end of her senior year. My heart was truly full as I watched her accept her diploma yesterday!

This is Rachel (center) with two of her best friends, Meggan and Hannah. I just love this picture. It reminds me so much of the one that my parents took of me and my friends at our high school graduation twenty six years ago. Although I spent a good amount of time looking for it today so that I could post it, I came up short.