This morning we are in Boulder, celebrating the graduation of our daughter Bailey from the University of Colorado. What a moment! How we have waited with anticipation and excitement for this day!
Bailey was part of the high school Class of 2020, and she never got to graduate, have a senior prom, etc. All of us were greatly affected by Covid, and all of us had losses of different kinds and varying scales - but this was one of ours. So today, we are grateful beyond measure to celebrate this beautiful girl and all her efforts.
We are all ready for the next chapter, whatever it may be. It is a beautiful thing to get to bear witness to the launch of your child, and we are excited for whatever she decides to do next. There are a few more months to spend in Boulder, to close some things out, to finish the lease, to enjoy life without the pressures of college - but then there is the great next chapter.
Look back over your life today, and take some time to think about those places where your decisions - big or small - have influenced the next chapter. We all have some of those pivotal moments. Hopefully you have more joys than regrets when it comes to this question, but sometimes our mistakes lead us the wrong way around to what's right.
In her book The Next Right Thing, Emily P. Freeman says, "Sometimes the circumstances at hand force us to be braver than we actually are, and so we knock on doors and ask for assistance. Sometimes not having any idea where we’re going works out better than we could possibly have imagined."
Today we don't have to know exactly what is next. Today we celebrate. Today we throw hats in the air, eat cake, drink champagne. Here's to the next chapter - but first - here's to TODAY.
Congratulations! Graduations are a special time to reflect on a job well done and celebrate the next exciting chapter of life. ENJOY every minute. 😍