NINE....

Growing up in Ontario in the 1970's, a group of some possibly deranged people thought that it would be best to prolong the agony of high school for just ONE more year and so, in order to graduate from high school in Ontario and go to university, it was imperative that one have six (6) grade THIRTEEN credits. Yes, I endured 5 years of high school!!!! 

(By the way, if you had more than 6 grade 13 credits, like 7, you could drop your lowest mark... which in my case was physics, 

much to the chagrin of my father with a PhD in physics).

Why am I telling you this???

Because, I now have NINE years of high school under my belt!!!

Today, after FIVE years at Nepean High School,  graduating in 1981 (yes, I am getting old too!), I have now graduated from another FOUR (4) years of high school along with Nature Boy! 

and since my math is as good as it is going to get right now, 

FIVE plus FOUR = NINE!!!

Today, Nature Boy and I officially finished our homeschooling career together. 

Remember how I cried a couple of months ago?  Well, I might have shed a tear or two today... in fact, today, I let the tears flow right in front of Nature Boy. I told him that I have no regrets pulling him from public school 6 years ago to homeschool and I would do it again if I had to. In fact, if I could do it again, I would have done it sooner. But we are done!!!!

Nature Boy decided to avoid the dreaded "Speech" course until the bitter end. Ironically, on his last exam (which is now in the mail), he had to right a short graduation address. He and I found a quote to include in his short "pep talk".....

"Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on  until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you’ll make a difference." ~Arie Pencovici

So what does the graduate have planned???? 

Well, I am hoping to get some serious mess making done in the near future

 in my sewing room....

(I have already got one going!)

in my studio and hopefully take some art classes around the world. I am hoping to travel and have some short jaunts planned for the near future. I plan to continue getting up each weekday morning to meet up with my 5:30 AM gym rats. I hope to do some more reading (and only from the kind of books I want to read). 

As for Nature Boy, who knows... each day he will graduate from something... just hope it is big whatever he does!

In the meantime, today we had a celebratory lunch at a local outdoor grille...

no pomp, no ceremony and just a few tears.