Graduations

At my ripe, ol' age, I'm rarely invited to high school graduations, because my peers usually have offspring who are already out on their own. This year, though, we're receiving a whole slew of graduation announcements and invitations.



And at this young, spritely age in which I find myself, I am also receiving many announcements of memorials to attend.

Changes, changes, and more changes.

Nothing stays the same. And yet, we are amazed every time it changes. Funny creatures that we are.

In the next couple of weeks, I'll be attending a memorial for a woman who died in her 80s and another memorial for a woman who died in her 40s.

Of the death of the 40-something woman, some may say, "Oh, she died so young." I remember Stephen Levine, the man who helped me to be able to tolerate the concept of death, saying something like, "A child dies at 5 years old. You think it's bad that he graduated early?" I don't know if the woman who died in her 40s graduated early or not, but I'm certain that I can't see the bigger picture of these things, so I can't judge the goodness or badness of it.

It's truly an honor to be able to be a part of community in honoring the transitions of life.

For those who have graduated from high school or college, we will acknowledge a job well done and then wish them well in their next adventure.

And for those whose memorials we will attend, those who have graduated from this school we call life, well, we will also acknowledge a job well done and then also wish them well in whatever comes next.