August 1993 was also the beginning of my senior year of high school. I spent 4 long years doing just enough to not have to work all that hard, and just enough to get accepted into a college. Done and done. Ever heard of Senioritis? It’s a very real thing, and I had it. Bad.
So, with the melody of All That She Wants ringing loudly in my ears, I was ready to light this candle and get my senior year over with! I had a life to start! WOOHOO!! Seniors RULE!
Honestly, though, my senior year at Northwestern High School was pretty uneventful. I played football, got injured and had to sit out 6 weeks or so. We ended up going 4-4 on the season, I think. I passed my classes and made sure that if I dropped my German class, Manchester College would still let me attend there. They did...WOOHOO!!! Seniors RULE!
I was also a Mount Man for the cheerleaders during the basketball season. It was fun. Although lifting cheerleaders and making sure they don’t go crashing to the floor is hard work.
Spring Break of 1994 was my first out of state trip without direct adult supervision. We’ll leave it at that...WOOHOO Seniors RULE!!
The month of May rolled around and my best friend Chad and I spent our Senior Skip Day at the only logical choice there was to do such things in May of 1994...Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. See? If you know me, then you know my obsession with motorsports, and it clearly didn’t happen overnight.
Graduation day rolled around on Saturday, May 28th, 1994. I sat in a crowded gymnasium and watched my fellow classmates walk down the aisle and get their diplomas, listened to the all the speeches, and got sweaty under that oppressive cap and gown. I feel like I walked very fast when it was my turn to go on stage. I was probably trying not trip on anything, so walking fast was a poor choice on my part. On the way home after the ceremony, I was alone in my car and listened to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird. It seemed fitting because I knew in the back of my mind that despite spending nearly every day since 1980 with many of these people, I wouldn’t see most of them ever again. There was a definite finality to the day, and I was okay with it. WOOHOO SENIORS RU-oh forget it....
No, but seriously, do you know what DIDN’T happen at any point in 1993-1994? At no point did I think that someday I’d be married and have my own kids in school, and they’d be following in my own footsteps. I mean, who does, right?
This year, both of our kids, Gretchen and Cooper, will be in school. Gretchen is a grizzled veteran of the elementary school scene as she’s entering 3rd grade. Cooper is a newbie going to kindergarten. I never really gave it much thought, but then it hit me that the nearly 13 years they’ll be in school will give them memories, good and bad, for the rest of their lives....
The heartbreak of not doing well on a test;
The beaming confidence of getting an A on a report;
Getting distracted in class by your crush;
Watching your crush flirt with someone else;
Getting sick at school;
Recess;
The unbridled joy of the teacher showing a movie in class;
Watching someone else get sick at school;
Navigating the minefield that is the elementary lunch room;
The stress of getting into college;
Asking a date to prom;
All those memories that lay before them, it will all stay with them forever. In a lot of ways it’ll shape them into the adults they’ll become. I suppose I could be freaked out about the whole thing, but honestly, I’m just glad that I get to watch them do it, and I hope I can be there for them when they need me.
Honestly, though, my senior year at Northwestern High School was pretty uneventful. I played football, got injured and had to sit out 6 weeks or so. We ended up going 4-4 on the season, I think. I passed my classes and made sure that if I dropped my German class, Manchester College would still let me attend there. They did...WOOHOO!!! Seniors RULE!
I was also a Mount Man for the cheerleaders during the basketball season. It was fun. Although lifting cheerleaders and making sure they don’t go crashing to the floor is hard work.
Spring Break of 1994 was my first out of state trip without direct adult supervision. We’ll leave it at that...WOOHOO Seniors RULE!!
The month of May rolled around and my best friend Chad and I spent our Senior Skip Day at the only logical choice there was to do such things in May of 1994...Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. See? If you know me, then you know my obsession with motorsports, and it clearly didn’t happen overnight.
Graduation day rolled around on Saturday, May 28th, 1994. I sat in a crowded gymnasium and watched my fellow classmates walk down the aisle and get their diplomas, listened to the all the speeches, and got sweaty under that oppressive cap and gown. I feel like I walked very fast when it was my turn to go on stage. I was probably trying not trip on anything, so walking fast was a poor choice on my part. On the way home after the ceremony, I was alone in my car and listened to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird. It seemed fitting because I knew in the back of my mind that despite spending nearly every day since 1980 with many of these people, I wouldn’t see most of them ever again. There was a definite finality to the day, and I was okay with it. WOOHOO SENIORS RU-oh forget it....
No, but seriously, do you know what DIDN’T happen at any point in 1993-1994? At no point did I think that someday I’d be married and have my own kids in school, and they’d be following in my own footsteps. I mean, who does, right?
This year, both of our kids, Gretchen and Cooper, will be in school. Gretchen is a grizzled veteran of the elementary school scene as she’s entering 3rd grade. Cooper is a newbie going to kindergarten. I never really gave it much thought, but then it hit me that the nearly 13 years they’ll be in school will give them memories, good and bad, for the rest of their lives....
The heartbreak of not doing well on a test;
The beaming confidence of getting an A on a report;
Getting distracted in class by your crush;
Watching your crush flirt with someone else;
Getting sick at school;
Recess;
The unbridled joy of the teacher showing a movie in class;
Watching someone else get sick at school;
Navigating the minefield that is the elementary lunch room;
The stress of getting into college;
Asking a date to prom;
All those memories that lay before them, it will all stay with them forever. In a lot of ways it’ll shape them into the adults they’ll become. I suppose I could be freaked out about the whole thing, but honestly, I’m just glad that I get to watch them do it, and I hope I can be there for them when they need me.
After all, I come from a generation of people that thought it was okay to throw Wesley Snipes and Sean Connery in a movie together, and we put Swedish synth pop at the top of the charts....We know how to make things work.