The birdies are getting ready to leave the nest in the village. We’ve made the rounds to a handful of graduation parties since mid-June, and each one has had the same basic format: proud and supportive parents, families, and friends congratulating the graduates and asking them questions as they politely and somewhat bashfully thank us and answer our queries as best they can.
Slowly but surely, more teens trickle in until the party splits into two: adults in one area and teens in another until they take off for wherever the night’s parent-free gathering will take place.
Yesterday’s party was sweeter than the others. Entire families showed up, and it felt like old times. The seniors basked in the comfort of the community for longer, especially now that the excitement of graduation and prom have passed, college orientations have and are taking place, and reality has sunken in: they are leaving, and it’s no longer abstract.
A group of rising seniors gravitated toward one another, kids who have known each other since pre-school but have gone to different schools or who hang out in different social groups. They sat down in a row of chairs next to one another and mused how they were now going to be the seniors. They had absolutely no interest in talking about colleges, applications, or exams; they just wanted to bask in their newfound status.
My Corner of the Village 