Milestones

I remember the mad dash to grab the camera, the exchange of tears and giddy claps from exuberant parents unhinged with excitement over their chile graduating from preschool, to next venture into painting and naps in kindergarten. Then elementary school, junior high, high school...blah, blah, blah. Isn't that what it seems like as an adult; that there aren't anymore milestones to celebrate or rather any that garner such attention. As a child I hated it, as an adult I crave it. School was a marking of achievements, a place to move on according to your own merit. If you made the grade, you passed, if you didn't, a brief foray into the teenage prison of summer school, and guess what you passed. As an adult, you work hard, you have to work harder, you're promised a promotion and you have to work harder. No one is there to congratulate you on the 2 years of service, long hours, missed family time, paychecks that have moved from hand to mouth to hand to bank then to mouth. No one celebrates adult, or rather unmarried single adult accomplishments, unless of course you're making someone some extra money. I miss the gowns, and the pictures, the smiles and hugs. I miss the family barbecues, the anonymous gifts in the mail. I miss the proud look that was in my parents eyes - it seems now that joy has to come from within.