My Old School

Why was I the only one who cared about my son’s graduation ceremony?

- JANET PAIGE SMITH

GO, DAWGS! Janet and son Laughlin had an impromptu on-campus graduation ceremony.

I opened the freezer and shoved in the cake—a sheet cake with my son’s name in red and black frost-ing—the colors of the University of Georgia, where Laughlin, my youngest, would graduate in May.

Except now there would be no graduation because of the pandemic. I had been looking forward to Laughlin’s graduation. For a lot of reasons.

I’m a UGA grad too. I didn’t attend my graduation ceremony because I was in the midst of wedding preparations and receiving an Army commission as an air defense artillery officer.

“No graduation!” I said a bit annoyed that my son, finishing coursework at home, didn’t seem bothered.

“I need to focus on my classes and getting a job, Mom,” he said.

Of course. But Laughlin didn’t know what he was missing.