I spent most of the 2023-2024 school year in complete DENIAL that it was Connor's senior year and he would soon be graduating. I'm honestly not sure how this happened! I told the kids all year long that it was likely going to hit me an some unexpected moment and I would have the ultimate ugly cry. As the springtime progressed, the senior year and graduation activities were really picking up. Luckily I had planned in advance to get Connor's official senior year photos with a photographer in the area, and in my usual forward-thinking mode, I made sure we could get some updated family photos at the same time. In Katy, there is a common and popular spot for photos called the Rice Silos, and almost every senior we know gets their pictures there for homecoming and graduation. We borrowed a cap and gown for the photo session and off we went!
It was an extremely surreal and emotional feeling to see Connor donning the cap and gown for hiss senior photos. I still don't think I had completely processed the fact that he was graduating so soon, and seeing him dressed up and posing for the photographer felt like an out of body experience, like I was watching someone else's grown child and not my own. I might've shed a tear or two, especially when I saw him in the cap and gown looking like an official graduate.
Thankfully I didn't have too much time to sit in my feelings because the rest of the family showed up for us to snap a few updated family pictures. Over the years, I have been adamant and intentional about taking family photos and keeping them updated every few years. These pictures and moments mean SO MUCH to me as a mom of a big and blended family. It is my hope that they will love and appreciate these photos and memories we have made as a family of 6!
