Connor's Graduation Party and College Decision

We didn't have long to revel in the excitement of Connor's graduation, because it was time for a PARTY! Connor would have preferred to fly under the radar, but I wanted to make sure our family and friends were able to recognize this kid and his high school achievements in a proper celebration. We held a come-and-go graduation party in his honor at our home, and we were so excited to share memories and welcome great friends for the occasion. We went all out with the decorations and planning, and we had a house FULL of awesome people that were happy to shake Connor's hand and hear about his next steps.

For the big day, I had been working for weeks to get photos, memorabilia, and decorations lined up. It was an a bit of an assault on my emotions to look through all those photos and memories leading up to the big graduation event. It all seems to go by in the blink of an eye, one minute dropping them off for kindergarten and the next, preparing for them to fly the nest. As bittersweet as it felt, we were excited to celebrate and share his plans for the future -- despite how unexpected it still felt to all of us. 

Yep, that's the University of Alabama logo on his decorations, which was a bit of a Hail Mary decision (or so it felt) at the 11th hour when Connor was making his college plans. Once the final college offers rolled in, it was painfully obvious that Connor would be making the tough decision to attend college much further away than we all had hoped. We LOVED Alabama, but it was 10 hours away. Connor's criteria for college included somewhere nearby to study computer science with as much scholarship money as he could earn. So, when UT Austin denied Connor his preferred major, and Texas A&M offered next to nothing in scholarships, while Alabama rolled out the red carpet with an abundance of options and academic scholarships, it was clear where Connor belonged. Throughout his senior year, we never saw it coming, and it was difficult at times to accept. Pulling together the graduation party decorations cemented the decision and helped it sink in a bit more. We were ready to share the great news with friends and family for Connor's day of honor, and we were thrilled with the great turnout for the fun afternoon.