Damn stupid indoor rain…

It’s been one of those weeks…where tears pop to my eyes the moment I view my Facebook timeline.

It’s these kids of ours…their graduations…prom pictures and closing ceremonies. It’s the passing of time…the memories of when they were young and how they’ve grown into these beautiful young adults…young men and women we’re all so very proud of.

It’s this post and photo from Fab Sani this morning that got me:

Well. I have had a moment. As I sit eating breakfast the day after no 1 son gets his “fulls,” no 2 son is showering for his grade 6 grad, then I see no 1 son’s shirt and tie hung so he can wear it to a job interview. I realized I am not the man who used to wrestle with both of them at the same time or toss them in the air making sure they never touch the ground, or hold their hands while crossing the street, or sing “bear in the big blue house.” Then this wetness hits my face…and I think, “why is it raining in the house” only to realize a tear….I miss those days. Then I look at the pic of Spencer’s first official passenger. His younger brother Max. They are young men, good young men….damn stupid indoor rain!

It’s this photo and this statement and many others I’ve seen in the last few days that have filled my heart with pride…my cheeks with tears.

Like these photos of my parents and Bones…

…clearly showing how time has passed as it doesn’t seem very long ago that mom had brown hair…and a sunburn!

Or that Bones “graduated” from Pre-school…then today, “graduated” from Junior High.

It’s this photo…of her standing next to my girlfriend’s son.

How I’m so very proud of all of their accomplishments…how pleased I am that they’re heading to High School to discover the path they choose to wander…as they set out to achieve their dreams.

It’s this picture of Spiderman and my girlfriend’s niece.

How I look at this gorgeous photo of this wonderful young woman who’s heading off to Acadia next year…how the children of family friends stand side by side in celebration of all that’s ahead. How proud I am of this wonderful young woman and how next year, it will be my son…my boy in a Tux as he celebrates his achievements and heads off on his next adventure.

And then it’s these two pictures that got me the most…

One, taken on the very first day of primary and the other, at yesterday’s Prom.

Morgan and Sydney, growing up on the same street as we watched them change from the sweet darling girls to the beautiful young women they are today. While we remember them dressing up as Disney Princesses, collecting eggs at our neighbourhood Easter Egg Hunt or bouncing on the castles at our street parties…as they’d toboggan on the hill behind our houses, stand in the rain at the bus stop, attend regattas and dances and birthday parties and Christmas concerts and one adventure after the next.

How we remember their childhoods…their friendship through the years. How yesterday, just like every photo of the first day of school where they stood side by side excited for the year ahead…they stood side by side on Prom day. Looking radiant. In anticipation for all that’s before them.

The photos of these two wonderful young women…sums up exactly how I’m feeling. That time is fickle…that life is beautiful…that we’re raising young men and women.

Good men and women.

Damn stupid indoor rain.