Happy Graduation, Chelsea!

September 4th, 1997. Chelsea’s first day of kindergarten.

May 18th, 2014. Chelsea’s last day of college.

It wasn’t the scarlet gown, the black mortarboard, or the gold tassel…

It wasn’t Pomp and Circumstance, the National Anthem or the singing of Clarissima, Boston University’s Alma Mater…

It wasn’t the Invocation, the Benediction, or the tossing of the caps…

…though each produced my all-too familiar lump-in-the-throat…

Nope.

It was the twenty-two letters.

The twenty-two letters so beautifully displayed, and forever inscribed, that took my breath away.

Those letters?

CHELSEA ELIZABETH SAGEER

Upon seeing Chelsea’s name on her college diploma, I was immediately flooded with touching childhood memories. Memories of the first capital ‘C’ Chelsea ever wrote by herself; the first time she correctly printed her full name in the upper left-hand corner of her wide-ruled practice paper with dotted lines; her cursive signature at the top of the always dreaded but very familiar blue books; her scrolly doodles on thick study packets; and the hundreds of times I signed my name, so proudly, on her behalf. I drifted back to the little things…the thought of her soft little 5 year old hands with the tiny white birthmark on her right index finger wrapped so tightly around her extra-large Crayolas; pencil boxes filled with Ticonderoga-Dixon #2s, glue sticks and blunt tip scissors; spiral notebooks, rainbow colored index cards and Trapper Keepers; text books, scripts and sheet music; high school papers, college essays and applications; resumés, cover letters and contracts…

 

 

It’s extraordinary… how the compilation of the seemingly little things come together to create the most important thing… a big, beautiful life. From the learning of our alphabet to the signing of a contract. The last can’t happen without the first and everything in between.

 

 

As Chelsea’s family, we adore watching her journey through life. And when we try to imagine her life beyond her college years, it’s a pretty safe bet that it will be riddled with adventures that tap into both her artistic and intuitive sensibilities along with her love for problem solving. She was the very little girl who would ask if we were sure we parked on the correct side of the street since the sign read Parking On Even Days Only; she was the pre-teen who stood solo and belted Alicia Keys in her little pink poncho at her 6th Grade talent show; and she’s the young woman who will be starting her career as a Digital Media Coordinator.

We are so excited to see what life holds for our sweet little girl who started school on that crisp September day wearing her blue suede shoes, her Barney backpack and her beautiful smile.

 

Congratulations, Salsa!

We are so very proud of you!!