Waltz of Her Life

"Aw, mom! That's so early!"

"Eleven-thirty, young lady, and not a minute after." She thought about adding You might hate me now but you'll thank me later," but did not want to see Hayley stomp her feet and roll her eyes.

At eleven twenty-five Linda heard the rumbling barrels of a powerful engine thunder up the driveway. The car idled, she heard two people speak, and a moment later Hayley walked through the side door. "There. Are you happy now?"

Linda had been so deep in reverie that she missed her daughter's name being called. Stephen had to nudge her to get her attention. He took her hand as they both watched her.

Hayley strode to the podium with confidence, her head held high, wearing a bright, megawatt smile as she shook the hand of the gray-haired dean and accepted her degree with her other hand. Before walking away from the podium, Hayley held her degree high above her head, triumphantly. Tears welled in Linda's eyes as she stood with the rest of her family and clapped wildly.

Soon, a student named Nicholas Zupmeyer entered and exited the podium, receiving his degree. As the dean spoke one last time and congratulated them all, seemingly every student took off their cap and tossed it high into the air. That troubled Linda slightly, as she still wanted to get pictures of Hayley and hoped she wouldn't lose her cap.

As the parents and family climbed down from the bleachers, the newly graduated students ran off the field to meet them. For Linda it was a scene of positive energy as she passed dozens of families giving their children hugs or high-fives. With so many people crossing by each other past the stadium gates, Linda kept stretching on her toes, trying to find Hayley. "There she is!" she heard her mother call out and she turned around to see them hugging.

When it was Linda's turn to hug her daughter, she rocked her back and forth just as she had in the front seat of the Jeep, when she first started kindergarten. "It's the end of a long road for you, pal," she said.

Once they made it to the parking lot, Hayley said. "If you want to get pictures, we should go to the Farragut building. That's where I had most of my classes." To Linda's delight, Hayley happily posed for dozens of pictures in her cap and gown with various members of her family. They took them in front of a white concrete building with a covered walkway in the front.