My Darling Christine

Our daughter is graduating from college tomorrow. I find myself drifting back when she was a baby. She still has blond hair and big blue eyes. She has the same smile and the way she tilts her head and looks at me as if I were completely insane. When she was an infant she had this thing called a a Johnny Jump Up. It hung from the door frame where she used her tiny legs to get it to swing her around and bounce up and down while I cooked dinner. I can see her in my mind as if it were happening right in front of me at this very moment. That is how it is for me. I still see all of her life regardless of where she is today. Every picture of her in every stage is ingrained in my mind and available at a moment's notice. I miss the days when the sun rose and set for me. I miss the day and nights when I was the most important person in her world.
I have waited for many years, 22 to be exact, to get to this point. I wished, prayed and worked so she could have the opportunities she has had. Tomorrow she will fulfill her end of the bargain. Christine Hope will don her cap and gown, walk across the stage and grab firmly on to her diploma that she she worked so very hard to get. I am so very proud of her. I never graduated from college and it remains my biggest regret. She has come right through me and allowed me to share in her joy and accomplishments.
I have packed plenty of tissues for the time when the tears stream down my face as I know they will. I will toast my child, our daughter, as she begins her real big girl life. The world is hers for the taking. I was watching The Colbert Report and his guest was Chuck Close the artist. He is Christy's and my favorite. My Walmart bill was the same as her date of birth.All these little signs to remind me how lucky I have been to have her in my life. I didn't just get pennies this time either, I got quarters and dimes from her father as the reminder that he too is aware of her graduation. Having Christy as a daughter has been an embarrassment of riches.