Hello, High School

Mondays have a reputation for being challenging so it should be no surprise ours was!

Carter had his last day of school and only half a day at that. A friend's mom got him home so we didn't have to leave work early. Well, we still had to leave a little early so we could get home in time for me to iron his dress shirt and get him to the church for the 8th-grade mass and graduation ceremony.

Good thing I procrastinated on ironing that shirt. If I hadn't, we would have been unaware of what was lurking in the basement. In a word, a mess!

I went downstairs to iron his shirt and I notice the carpet is wet all the way from the bottom of the stairs to the laundry room entrance. I didn't even want to see what was behind door #1. I knew it wouldn't be good. Long story short, the sump pump somehow stalled in the morning while we all were taking showers so all that water was now on the basement floor and seeping into the nearby carpeted areas. Jim jiggled the pipe above it and it immediately kicked in, so that was good.

I really couldn't iron that shirt, plugging it in an electrical outlet while standing in water, so I ended up doing that on the kitchen table. Somehow that shirt was our priority. We had to get to town so we left everything as it was and knew we had a mess to face once we got through graduation.

And we did. And it was nice. It was impossible to get a decent shot of Carter getting his diploma. Not good lighting, but I tried. Then it was downstairs to the church basement for refreshments. Naturally, we wanted to get home and see what we'd have to deal with all night, but this was Carter's moment. So I snapped candids of him and a lot of his friends and then he hugged some goodbye and he'll see them in high school. No, I did not cry. I think my mind was on something else. Sigh.

Anyway, here's what you missed:

First in line (alphabetically) to receive his diploma from Principal Gibbons.

Proud of our new high schooler!!

Assumption class of 2016... and 1981.

Yes, he is officially taller than me!

Friend Emily. She's a cutie!

Classmate Gena has always towered over Carter. She is really nice and looks awesome with her new smile. She got her braces off just in time for graduation!

The guys hamming it up.

His buddy Jon.

Basketball teammate, obviously. Ha.

Hugging Macey.

Hugging sweet Macyn... sensing a theme here?

Hugging his bestest buddy Olivia. He's not blushing; it was hot in the church.

His golfing buddy and fellow mischief-maker Tyler.

Carter and his gal pals. With 20 boys in a class of 53, the odds are in his favor! Another reason to look forward to high school!