I’m not entirely sure how this happened. The other day I was giving my daughter, Sierra, a piggyback ride up to her room as she excitedly filled me in on all the fun stuff her class was doing during the last week of kindergarten. Then, one maybe two days later, she pulls into the driveway with some friends and I overhear them excitedly talking about their last few days of high school before they graduate.

Graduate! From high school! Say it ain’t so. I guess that would explain the graduation gown hanging on her bedroom door, the pile of graduation announcements sent far and near to family and friends and the steady stream of congratulatory cards in our mailbox addressed to Sierra. I’m not old enough and surely not mature enough to be the father of a high school graduate. My mullet and I just graduated a few years ago.

How’s the parent of a high school graduate supposed to act? Old, groggy and slightly medicated? What do they look like? Rundown, rickety and mostly out of style? There must be some mistake. I’m just not ready for this. You can’t just spring something like this on someone. Can’t we go back and try it again?

Try it again. Wouldn’t it be something if this parenting gig were more like making a movie. “Nope sorry….I didn’t like that take…let’s do it again.” Instead we get one take, no script, no director, just non-stop “ACTION”.

I do feel very fortunate that my job allowed me not to miss much during Sierra’s K through 12 days. It seems like a simple mundane thing but what I especially enjoyed was being able to drop her off and pick her up at school most every day. Each day I’d send her off with; “Have fun…learn a lot” and she’d smile and say, “I will. I love you” and skip off to join her friends on the playground. Mornings aren’t my thing but that was always worth getting up for.

Then it was off to work for me. Where I would often wonder what she was up to and how her day was going? I suspect I’ll wonder those things for as long as I’m able to wonder. My children fill my world with wonder…always have…always will. For instance, right now I’m wondering when they’ll get around to picking up the dog crap in the back yard…minus what I picked up on my shoe.

Ready or not Sierra is in fact graduating from Stevens High School this week. Pomp and Circumstance will play and she will cross from this stage to the next where a new adventure awaits. An adventure that will be more hers than anything she’s ever done. We are quite proud of what she’s accomplished thus far and look forward to her future endeavors as she pursues a degree in film and photography at Montana State University.

Many changes are on the horizon but the advice I gave Sierra every day when I dropped her off at school remains the same, “Have fun and learn a lot.”

Congratulations to the class of 2014…go get em’.