It seems like yesterday ...
This is always a fun time of year ... graduation announcements come in the mail and "last" day of school pictures are on Facebook. Every year I am amazed at who is graduating. "Surely they aren't that old," I think to myself. This year was no exception when we opened the announcement for our old neighbor Cody, a young man who we met when he was seven or eight years old. Our oldest son was only two and we had a new baby on the way. Cody would come over and play with our oldest son for hours! He was such a blessing when the new baby arrived and I was stretched thin with a newborn. If I remember correctly, he even humored our oldest with a sleepover a few times!
Over the last few years I have been able to keep up with what is going on in his life via he and his mom's Facebook posts. Their pages boast varsity football, choir, drama, a really pretty date to prom, hunting and building a cabin with his dad. A well rounded kid. While we rarely see them, he has always held a special place in my heart. I always thought I wanted my boys to be as kind and respectful as he was. I would watch his parents and pray I could do it as well as they were.
Fast forward ten years. Cody is graduating. My oldest has a summer babysitting job of his own. And today our "baby", who wasn't even part of our lives when we were neighbors with Cody, turns eight! I still look at Cody as a great example for my kids, and I am so thankful that they have had other kids in their lives who have been the same example for them.
Today, it is my prayer that my boys will be the kind of kids that younger kids can look up to.
Happy graduation to all - especially Cody!
