Thursday, June 07, 2007

my sister is graduating

My youngest sister graduates from high school on Friday. I'm proud and happy for her, but occasions like this also make me a little sad. She's my baby sister, and she's grown up now. My family has been changing a lot over the years (siblings getting married, having kids, moving to different places), and Lexi was the sibling who lived at home and wasn't moving on to new life endeavors. And now she will. It's exciting and sad at the same time!

So anyway, I'll be in Nevada this weekend, but I'll leave you with a copy of the poem Lexi is going to read in her valedictory address. It makes me cry every time I read it. (Oh, I was alerted to this poem because of Deborah at Exponent II.):

You Reading This, Be Ready

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life—

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

--William Stafford

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ha. my youngest sister also just graduated from hs and also gave a valedictory address.

holli jo said...

Crazy! Smart siblings are the best.