Butterflies and Graduates

When I look back on this time in July, what will I remember?  Facebook has been reminding me of this time last year, a time of new gardens and the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies.  In an effort to cheer myself up, a few weeks ago I took a string of  party lights in the shape of Hawaiian shirts and surfboards and created an ode to summer on a bookshelf in my office:

I also added a butterfly quilt that one of my office colleagues gave me, and the painted bowl that reminds me of summer and good friends.

But I hope that in future years, I remember the steady stream of students who came to pick up graduation bags.  Like most of the nation, my school is doing a virtual graduation this summer.   But since students had already been charged for caps, gowns, and diploma covers, we offered to have students drive up, and we'd bring them out to the car.

I've been trying to take as many pictures of the process as I can.  And I try to remember to sing a variation of the birthday song:  "Happy graduation to you . . ."  Yes, I could "sing" the Pomp and Circumstance processional, but I'm not convinced that students would know what I'm "singing."

It's been a very different summer than the one I thought I would have, but I want to remember that we've done our best to make lemonade when life has given us lemons.