Mountaintop Convocation

 

It was only 9 degrees and I was wrapped in blankets even with my jacket, but the mountainous landscape was breathtaking and my heart was warmed by the excitement of the moment.  Four years ago I hadn't envisioned my daughter's convocation being on the far side of the country with a mountain peak canvas.  But then I have an entire list of milestones and adventures and courageous leaps that were not a part of what I could see when she was accepted into university.

So much has unfolded since then.

So much that inspires me and surprises me and fills me with gratitude.

I had the honor of accompanying her through each station pre-ceremony. outfitting her for the event--degree, gown, hood and mortar board, all symbols of the blood, sweat and tears of accomplishment.  I looked on while seeking to take it all in--this outdoor celebration of the next generation--and my girl had wholly earned her place among the graduates.  When her name was read from the platform and she walked across the stage, she was just another face to the few thousand onlookers.  But for me!!?
Oh how vast is my knowledge and understanding of the journey this beautiful young woman has been on for 22 years.  How deep and strong she has become.  The battles she has fought, the wars she is still fighting, the stunning victories she has achieved are not lost on me for even a second.  I'm privy to her anxious spirit; the stronghold fear strives to have on her; yet she breaks free time and time again.  I lament and celebrate her overactive mind and wild imagination and her attempts at taming the negative side of both.  I marvel at her vivid creativity with words and the way they transport me to places of freedom and pain and hope and restlessness as I pour through the pages of her blog.  I'm challenged by her courage to investigate, question and chart her own path, independent of those around her or even the way in which we raised her.  I love how she is marking her own steps towards a faith that is her own and not just one passed down.  I still marvel at the crazy brave decision she made to move across the country and make strangers into friends, adapt to culture and risk missing everything and everyone she left behind.  I love the ways in which she has embraced so many different cultures and race through friendships and how she chooses to honor them and be a voice on their behalf.  I love that I can learn from this one whom I birthed.  What an honor.

On that cold, fresh morning in early June, I applauded the countless times she's pushed through illness, loneliness pain and confusion in order to walk across a platform hailed as a graduate.

Now she's referred to as alumni:)  She joins the hundreds who donned their gowns and caps that day to celebrate and close one chapter of their lives.  The future is largely unknown for her.  After a summer of home and traveling she'll return to her beloved mountains to find a place to live and a job to pay the bills.  And though there are parts of her that long for the future to be engraved in stone,  I am forever reminding her that having an uncharted road map is more than okay.  For now she's sinking her soul into life as it is unfolding and learning and growing more beautiful along the way.

Ashley...you make your Mama proud
love you to the moon and back