Ethan Graduates!

My youngest son graduates from high school today, and I could not be happier about it.

It is always an accomplishment to finish a chapter in one's education, and that is reason enough to celebrate.  In the United States, the end of high school marks not just the end of publicly funded education but it is also the transition from childhood to adulthood.  Most kids leave home at that point--they are not necessarily financially independent, but they have a lot more personal autonomy.  So it is in and of itself a big deal.

But for Ethan, every aspect of education has been an uphill battle.  He is able to learn, and to learn well,  but it requires a lot of time and tremendous effort--both for him and those who teach him.  He requires significant one-on-one teaching, which has become a thing of the past.  As a nineteenth century nobleman, he would have been an above average student and a pleasure to teach--unless you include fencing amongst the daily tasks to accomplish.  He took to rowing like a duck to water, but a summer course in fencing was not a success.  Sadly, for Ethan's sake, and I suspect many others who struggle in classrooms of 25 or more, the days of that sort of one-on-one education are far behind us.

Ethan had a brain tumor when he was 5 years old, and the surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy left him with numerous challenges.  So when he walks across the stage tonight, with his ribbon and medal signifying having been on the honor roll all 12 trimesters of high school,  it is a journey that he has more than earned.  We know that he did not do it alone, but it wouldn't have happened without his tenacity, his patience, and the fact that underneath all his gruff indifference, he is really pretty fun to teach.

I am very proud of his accomplishment, and I look forward to continuing to learn with him as he moves onto the next step, college.  I am privileged and honored to be his tutor--but also obliged.  So luckily I am getting really excited about learning along side him over the next several years.  The job of parent is the most emotionally exhausting in existence--it has the worst hours, the worst pay, and the benefits are what you make of them (and they certainly are not monetary).  You are on call 24/7, with no overtime, and your input might just as easily be ignored as followed.  Be that as it may, Ethan has been a pleasure to parent and may that continue to be true!