Graduation day
On Sunday, the family attended one son's university graduation. I was moved not only by Etienne's giddy, gowned delight, but also by the intense pride that radiated from the graduating students, shown in their shining young (and youngish, for the PhD.s) faces, the whoops of families, and even in the tangible pleasure of professors who were given teaching awards. His alma mater, a large urban university, is known for the diversity of its student body and its dedication to equity, social justice and activism. Riven by a bitter labour dispute, the university was closed by a strike for nearly three months during the last school year, resulting in a chaotic extended schedule for classes and exams.
Though opportunity is a value of all educational institutions, the ideal rarely leaps off the institution's crest and into a crowd's collective heart. But surrounded by hundreds of grads, families, bouquets, the timeless pomp of the academy and our boy's enthusiastic, confident chatter about what's next, I felt the noble ideal come to life, as optimism and love suffused the hall.
I find myself deeply moved at certain ceremonies, even if not directly involved. Le Duc discovered me gazing from a Montreal hotel window at a wedding in the courtyard, teary and suffused with sentiment. And funerals? Even if I pass by in a car, I will be touched, and wonder about the life lived. Boy Scout inductions, christenings, parades, museum openings, bar mitzvahs, even elections stir me.
I revere community, celebration, the reminder of the values that strengthen society, especially participation and inclusion. Fortunately, I can hold it together for store openings and product launches.
Well don't I sound...Canadian? And of course I sound like a proud parent, too!
Comments
I think there's something within us that *needs* ceremony and tradition. It's a way of feeling connected to something larger than ourselves, and provides some comfort in a sense of continuity. Thank you for this beautiful post.
I skipped my own university graduations, but was so proud to attend son's graduation from UC Santa Barbara. The older I get, the more I appreciate these types of ceremonies and the messages they convey.
Lisa: Yes- I cry at Olympic ceremonies too.
materfamilias: It's so important to have faculty there. Unfortunately the recipient of an honorary PHD. was the speaker and took the opportunity to use it for an internal political soapbox (her college is merging with another faculty). We were appalled at how little focus she put on the students, and how much on herself.
Belle: He got his BA- does want to continue for his Master's after a year or two.
You have every right to "bust your buttons" as is said at my house.
Dar;a
I've been known to weep at ceremonies of all sorts.
I enjoy reading all your postings but the ones on your family touch me deeply.
darla, tiffany, kristophine and maggie: I have passed along your congratulations to Etienne and he enjoyed receiving them. So kind of you.
Well done, Etienne! You made your mama proud!
I too get teary at various types of ceremony - as Deja says, we do need ceremony and tradition, and I think we are more conscious of them, and the link between ourselves and others as we get older.