Graduation Day

Kathy took this photo last night after graduation out in the parking lot behind Arsenal Technical High School. I found it all a pretty emotional experience. This picture of Conor with his grandparents (Herb and Sue Mather to the left as you look at the picture and Judy and Bob Licht to the right) is a reminder of the ties across generations and I hope it serves as a reminder to him of who he is. I really didn't know my grandparents very well. A little bit. But I think that both Conor and Jordan have had a little more of an opportunity to get to know their grandparents. We live in a more mobile society. We live in a little closer to them physically than I did to my grandparents. Their grandparents have spent time with them, alone and with us. We have tried to point out from time to time aspects of their grandparents stories and lives that we think reveal some things about their own lives -- even as we encourage them to follow their own call in this world.

This graduation day was well spent with this part of his family. That's why I wanted this photograph. I think of how Bob Licht's scientific mind is reflected in Conor's love of mathematics and physics and computer science. I think of how Judy Licht's independence of thought and strong convictions (which I saw reflected very clearly in her parents) are reflected in Conor's own independence and inner strength. I think of how Herb Mather's sense of adventure I can see so clearly in Conor -- always wanting to explore and connect to the world around him. And how in Sue Mather, in the short time she has been around our family, has helped Conor develop a bit more of the grace and hospitality that Sue walks through the world with, so easily. My mother, Lillian Mather, was incredibly resourceful: very "craft-y" and creative and always trying to figure things out -- to make sense of how things worked and why - I see that in Conor as well.

So, as is always said at such events, graduation day is not an end, it is a beginning. I hope it is just another signpost along the road that reveals to Conor who he is and who he is becoming and who God has called him to be. It seems like a pretty good start to me.