Welcome to the Parenting Roundabout Podcasts for the week of June fifth, twenty twenty
three. I'm Terry Morrow and I'm here with Nicole Heretics Hello, and Catherine
Heleco Hello. Every week we chat about what parents are talking, complaining,
and obsessing about right now. This week we're complaining about school photos and obsessing
about New Year's resolutions. We also take a couple of breaks for an entertainment
discussion and a recommendation roundup. Today we are talking about recent graduations that does
not involve my family at all. Our graduations are all old and far in
the past. However, our little podcast family here has had a couple in
the past week. So who wants to start with your graduation roundup? Y?
Icole? Oh, Catherine, Okay, Yeah, So my son graduated
from high school. As you may recall, has been a a lot road.
Although I'm not having beach ball up into the air, we don't have
the actual diploma in hand, but he did show me his grades from this
semester and they were really very good, wonderful. Um so yeah, it
might have been his best, his best semester ever. Yeah, so strong.
So, although we don't have the actual diploma. Um, that's coming,
so you're you're fine. I feel pretty okay about it at this time.
Um, and yeah, and it was it was a lot. It
was a good day, you know. Um my parents came and my sister,
so he had like a whole crew here. Although my daughter wasn't able
to be here his sister, but everyone else was. And we also have
family able to watch the live stream and Terry, yeah, Terry was watching
from New Jersey. Well I fast forward till they got to him. But
still it's nice to have that. Yeah. Yeah, it's really nice that
they do the live stream because they limit the number of tickets. You know,
the numbers couldn't take a suspense. I wanted to make sure he got
across the stage and took the hand. Yes, he sure did. And
they have a lot data other events they have where the kids go back to
their elementary schools and are celebrated by the little children and the teachers. That
was cool, although my kid was late and because of a transportation mix up,
so that was very sad. I was really a boomed. Your daughter
didn't get to do it because of COVID. She didn't get to do it.
Um, he did make it there. But it was kind of after
walking, like parading through the halls and being able to like announce your plans
and then you know, but he did. He did get pictures with um,
you know, a lot of his his former classmates and his kindergarten teacher,
who was very emotional. She was like more emotional than than the parents.
It was very cute because this was her first class in that in that
building. Oh wow. Um, it wasn't her first year as a teacher,
but it was. She had moved to our town from out of states,
and you know, this was her first job in the district. So
and they were her first kids, so she was she was emotional. Yeah,
And and but then you know, like all the kids, most of
the kids stayed and like took a bunch of pictures on the playground and stuff.
And my kid and one of his friends was like, we gotta go,
We're leaving. I was like, don't leave, But he left,
but he left. Because then the next thing on the agenda was to have
a parade around the school building, the high school, which was something that
they started during COVID, the COVID year. They had a big parade,
a much much longer one, yeah for those kids because they didn't get anything
else basically, So now they do it abbreviated just basically around the school grounds
like it's which is you know, it's a pretty big campus so in those
um, you know, it's like a few city blocks when you get right
down to it. Yeah. So anyway, so they do a parade and
it's like cars and sometimes people pull trailers and sometimes people pull boats and they
have you know, a bunch of kids in the boat. One of Owen's
friends they put like they somehow attached a canoe to the back of their truck
and the kids sat in the canoe and paddled. It was super cute,
and Owen rode like a mini little dirt bike thing that belonged to one of
his friends. So it was it was cute, it was fun. We
had a lot of fun watching that. It seemed like adorable Midwest traditions.
We don't do those things. You can't bring anything but your car to school
thing. Where's a um it's different. Yeah, they didn't do anything but
your car. At his school, they did anything but a backpack day.
Yeah, okay, And apparently the track team did like the relay team did
anything but a baton at like they had a practice meat or something, and
so they were like one had like a traffic cone and stuff. But this
is just a it's it was sort of intended to be basically a car parade,
but then people started getting a little creative with pulling trailers and a kind
of stuff. So yes, it was it was a lot of fun.
And then the actual ceremony and that was nice. And really the only times
that I actually teared up were when my son's friend sang the national anthem and
she she was amazing. I mean, you know how hard that song is,
Like, yeah, it's really easy to do it badly, but she
did it beautifully and like with absolute just confidence and you know, she just
got up there and belted it out and it was amazing. And then there
was then the choir, which my son is in, performed a song,
and then the choir and the orchestra did the Battle Him of the Republic together
and it was very beautiful. So those were the two times that I got
a little bit eerie. But yeah, other than that, yeah, so
so it was it was a good time and it happened, so that was
awesome. So yeah, well, congratulations on thank you making it over the
well almost at the finish line. Got to get that diploma in your hand,
but yes were his hand anyway? Yes, but do have the cover,
you know, the folder that they give me, the empty folder that
they give you. We have can they like to take a picture of it
and send it to you before you have to go? Actually, right,
it'll be soon. Just text me yea yeah, yeah, well just a
few more days until yes, that's great and then on to college adventures afterwards.
Yes, which my daughter has just completed, yesh, my goodness.
Yeah, well her first round right yeah, um, yeah, she had
hers last week. A week ago. We were we all flew up to
Vancouver, British Columbia, and yeah, it was a beautiful day. Oh
my gosh. We left out because you know, it rains a lot in
Vancouver, so you usually just prepare for the rain and and then it's like
a pleasant surprise when it's sunny. Right, So Vancouver was on its best
behavior that day and it was lovely and yeah, I mean it required a
lot of orchestration on our part because we had my parents coming, my son
and his girlfriend, my daughter's boyfriend, plus my daughters for best friends from
like her first year university. They've been best friends throughout. But we only
had tickets for three people. Oh I hate that, so we had to
you know, hop on. They released unused tickets at midnight the night before.
It was just such a ridiculous system. We all hopped on and commandeered
the system and managed to get you know, twelve tickets or whatever it was
that we needed. And I'm sure we're really unhappy with us, but we
we managed to get them. So everybody was able to go, which was
another plus. And it was held. So my dad went to the same
university, graduated from the same university I went there. I graduated from that
university, and it was Kristen's turn, so it was kind of a it
was it was a pretty cool um moment because yeah, you know, and
just even comparing like when I graduated, what that was like. Yeah,
And they had moved it into a performing arts theater, so it was a
lot more small, intimate, and they broke the classes a lot more and
just had it spread out over more days. So the venue itself is lovely
gorgeous, and it was very intimate and um, yeah, and so it
was just really like it was under an hour, if you can believe that.
Wow. Like they literally got up there, said some words and then
just started graduates. No nonsense, no nonsense whatsoever. And we had a
really nice we were in a good spot to see her. M yeah,
and so and then afterwards we had photos. UBC is very like lush and
green, and so we found this hedge with these gorgeous flowers and we're able
to get some nice pictures. And then we all went out, if you
could believe this, for Mexican, after Mexican and Vancouver. So yeah,
we went out and celebrated and kind of and she actually surprisingly got her degree
right then and there. She didn't get like a place her type bold you
know, yeah got her She got her degree right then and there. And
yeah, so it was kind of fun and um. And so she has
since announced that she is going to go back next September and she wants to
start in her school September, like three months from now or a year September
in a year, kay. Yeah, So she has she has just signed
up for her first prerequisite course, which is anatomy. So this girl,
she can't get enough of cool, I'm telling you. Wow. So her
ultimate goal is to get into nursing, so we'll see how that plays out.
So I said, I'll pay for your birds degree, but I'm not
doing so we will have future graduations to talk about, apparently. Yes,
we're gonna have it more. And my sons is next year. He just
finished his third year. Yea, this is coming up next year, so
yes, they too, has a couple more too. Yes, your daughter
is coming up to Yeah, well she's gonna do the five year plans,
so she's she's got two more years of college, so endless stream of graduations.
We are completely out of the graduation business at my house. And you
are very fortunate. Yes, not unhappy about that either. Oh it's a
very expensive venture, yes, very stressful. It was. It's entertaining,
Like as you said, you know, they just started handing them out right
away. And and at my son's school, of course, they have it
down to a science. You know, I've done it so many times,
right, But we were laughing because they you know, they had the kids
like process in and they had like four entry points to where their seats were
right, so like two would come in from the left and two would come
in from the right, and they would walk to the back of the rows
of seats and then you know, they would go down the different aisles,
and they had a teacher who was standing there like like an air traffic controller,
just like or the marshal, you know, with the sticks like when
it was because they wanted them all four to walk to set off together,
you know, like they they waited until they were all standing at the back
together, and then she would like drop her hand like a flag, and
then those four would go and then the next four would approach. And wow,
they really are I don't know why they're so concerned about this, but
I mean because they had them sitting in a specific order and yeah, but
they still also had to have like a little piece of paper with their name
on it to give to the announcer. So I don't know why they had
to be so strict about where they were sitting, but yeah, whatever,
who cares. And they set aside like two and a half hours for them
to practice it before. Wow, they did not use all that time.
But yeah, really, are are they going to need that anyway? A
lot of moving parts? Yes, yeah, yes it is so, but
we're very excited that it has come and gone. Yes, and now it's
just parties every It's like every weekend all summer long. And I bought a
pack of graduation you know, congratulations cards in bowl for all of these good
idea, all of these events. So yeah, well, so that's it
for today's round one. As we said, there will be more graduation talk
years in the future, so for now we shall commence on that's right.
Tune in tomorrow for our entertainment themed round two and later in the week to
find out what we're complaining about, obsessing about, and recommending right now.
We're always interested in what you have to say, so drop us a comment
on our website or Facebook page or Twitter. We'll find us around about chat