Or rather, Cap and Gown.  Corey brought home his cap and gown on Monday.  I can’t believe it.  I just can’t believe our son will be graduating from high school in less than two months!

On a side note, he will graduate almost 20 years to the date after I did!

And now you can see why we are so proud of Corey!  He realizes just how awesome I am! ;-)

But all kidding aside, sometimes the boys will do little things like this (like the post from last night that our oldest son, Corey, submitted) that just completely catch me off guard.

I hope he knows how much his pride in me, his faith in me means to me.

Someone asked where Corey got his tattoo, and I can’t figure out how to reply to a comment!  I’ll get it one day!

Corey was actually thinking of getting it across his upper back, but for it to have any real impact, it would have to be fairly large.  On the other hand, if he wanted a back piece one day, it could interfere with it.  

Because he works, he wanted it somewhere that could easily be concealed so he got it on his upper arm, on the inside - inner bicep.  Honestly, I think it looks really good there!

No, that isn’t the year my dad was born…

That is what Corey scored on his SAT’s!  Almost a perfect score in Critical Reading.

We are so proud of him…

When you have kids, your life becomes a calendar of firsts - first time they roll over, first time they sit up, first tooth, first step, first day of school, first boyfriend/girlfriend, first heartbreak…

You measure your child’s life in firsts, and as they get older the ‘firsts’ become BIGGER - first time they get on the bus, first date, first prom, and for us in a few months - the first of our boys to graduate from high school.

When Corey was born, he had this little pointed head.  My sister told me he looked like a garden gnome.  My first delivery was hard - he was turned the wrong way, and it took the doctors a while to figure that out.  I pushed for almost six hours, four with no epidural.  I was exhausted, and when all was finally said and done, I was also sick with an infection.  I couldn’t hold Corey until my fever went away, so my mom, sister, and Corey’s father did it for me.  

When we finally took him home, I was lost.  I was scared - what if I did something wrong; what if I broke him.  But he thrived, and he took his first steps at 9 months.

The next few years were a hard time in my life.  I was young with two babies, and my marriage to their father didn’t last.  Eventually we divorced, and soon, I met Roy.

The boys came to live with Roy and I in August of 1999, and he and I set about getting them ready for school.  Corey started kindergarten in September 1999.  I think I was more nervous than he was, but he let go of my hand, gave me a kiss, and climbed on the bus.

In December of 1999, Roy and I bought our first house.  We were happy there, and in August of 2003, we learned our family would grow.  So, in October of 2003, we bought our second house, and Corey moved into his own room in December of 2003.  He was in fourth grade.

We got a call in maybe November 2004 to come to the nurses’ office.  Corey was in fifth grade.  They asked Roy to bring his pliers.  What?  We walked into the nurses office, and there was our son with his finger stuck in his clarinet case. Nice… haven’t repeated THAT particular first with any of the other boys.

In June of 2005, Corey ‘graduated’ from Elementary school.

He started middle school in August 2005, and the next year he had his first date with a very sweet young lady.  That lasted a few months.  In eighth grade, he came out to me in the car on our way to Walmart, and a few days later he told Roy. He was/is homosexual.

In June of 2009, we took him to his eighth grade prom and attended his middle school graduation…

And then it was time for high school.  He did ok his ninth and tenth grade year.  He made some good friends, got a Varsity letter in swimming, and adjusted well.

He started to find his footing in his Junior year, and pulled straight A’s for the entire year.  He had a short romance with a young man that was a few years older, but it didn’t last very long.  He had his first (probably second) kiss. 

He got his license in November 2010, and he drove to school for the first time.  Happy not to have to cram into the bus with another 50 kids.  In the beginning of 2011, he got his first job working at the local Dairy Queen.  It wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, but he was responsible and hard working.  He finished up his junior year, and he and the rest of the boys eagerly awaited another first - our first cruise.

We had a great time.  Our first time in the Caribbean was AMAZING! And Corey got to meet the head chef of the fleet. Amazing! And when we got home, Corey started a new job. A few weeks later he was let go from that job. Not really his fault, but a step backward nonetheless.

We started his Senior year of high school unsure of what the next step would be.  He wants to be a chef, and Roy and I aren’t sure if a traditional university is the best way to help him achieve his goal.  But we wanted him to take the SAT’s and have options, so a few weeks ago, I got up and helped him out the door for that first.

And this morning, I went online and ordered my oldest boy’s cap and gown for his high school graduation.  Another first, a momentous one, for me it was.  I told him I ordered it, and he said:

“Cool!  Thanks, Mom!”

And I watched my oldest and my 15 year old run out the door to drive off to school.

There are still plenty of firsts left for Corey, still plenty of firsts left for Roy and I with the younger boys and with Corey… but this one… on this cold morning… well, I think I shed a tear or two for the little boy that is growing up so fast.

So, Corey took his SAT’s yesterday.

And Roy and I decided to run to Costco.

“I can remember driving to my SAT’s.  I remember it just like it was yesterday. And now, my son is taking his.” I said.

I figured Roy would give me his standard sarcastic response, “Yes, honey.  You’re old.” But maybe he heard the catch in my voice, because this time, he just smiled at me.

“I still think this essay thing is dumb. It’s just so subjective.” Roy replied.

“I know.  How do they even grade that?”

No, the essay wasn’t around when Roy and I were in high school. And Corey tends to write like me… he can ramble a bit, sometimes he’s repetitive. He can repeat himself, over and over, making the same point. (HA HA!  Did you catch that?)

But it seemed to go well… In his opinion.

I woke up yesterday at 5:45.  My plan was to make him a good breakfast and send him on his way.  Though he is responsible enough to get up on his own, eat, and get out of the house on time, I wanted him to know we were rooting for him.

I made him some scrambled eggs, cinnamon toast, and got him some yogurt. 

He ran down the stairs and took his dog out. When he came back in, he threw his sweatshirt over his chair and said good morning.

“I made some coffee if you want some.”  I told him.

He got a cup and sat down, so I could bring him his breakfast.

I brought him his plate and sat next to him.  He ate, and I looked at his ‘ticket.’

“You need to bring a portable CD player?” WHAT?  Did we have one?  Oh crap!  Should I run to Walmart and get him one real fast?  Wait, I can just give him some money?  Huh? “Oh, nevermind, that is for the specialized language test.” 

WHEW! I was confused there for a second.

“You have your calculator, right? ” A scientific calculator.  Can the thing do chemistry?  What about ecology?  Why couldn’t I use one when I had to take mine?

“Yep.  Got my pencils and my license.” He replied.

He was ready to go.  He finished up his food and looked over at me.  I had finished looking at all the do’s and don’t’s on his ticket and was now looking at my Instyle magazine.

“So many colors!” Corey peeked at the article.

“Yep, color blocking is back in style.” I told him and flipped the page.

“That girl looks like she wants that guy to just get off her.”

“What?”  I flipped back.  It was an ad for perfume, and sure enough this guy was draped over this tiny little model.

“Well, he’s probably heavy.” I shot back.

Corey started to say something else.

“Really? Are you going to comment on every page?” I laughed.

“Yes, Mom.  Why yes I am.”

And then it hit me… Yes, he is 17.  Yes, he is a senior in high school. Yes, he is bigger than I am, and he has a job.  He can drive himself around, and I don’t remember the last time he asked me for money.  He is all of those things, but he is also, still, my little boy.