“Ohhhh, turn up! It’s Graduation Week!”
That was my message to my 4-year-old who was about to finish pre-kindergarten and to my 10-year-old who was graduating 5th grade. Yup, two in the same week!
Graduation will make any dad proud and, since my dad never made it to any of my graduations, it means even more to me. My dad never made it because he had to work. How many other dads are in that same situation? I get some people can’t make it, but if you have the opportunity to make up for a lost day of wages and still choose work or other things over an hour or two of showing love. That’s no bueno.
Kids can only graduate from a grade once, so missing it when you could be there is lame. It’s a proud moment that doesn’t happen every week, and you should never miss an event at which your child is the star. Pictures of this special day are cool, but being there is priceless.
Have fun with graduation
Graduation is supposed to be for the kids, but you know dope dads like me still have our own fun with it. We wake up every day and make sure our kids wake up for school, so we deserve this day as much as they do.
I found a deal for $5 big heads on Groupon and jumped on the opportunity. It was a real simple and cheap process that brought us tons of fun and memories.
The look on both of my kids’ faces when they saw themselves was insane. All their friends and even parents smiled while asking where we got them from.
I’m a sucker for making my kids feel like stars and making sure I had fun with it helped big time.
Take lots of photos
We have all encountered rude parents who block your view and photo opps at graduation. Often they are so excited they don’t even know they are doing it. It is what it is.
If you have to get in someone’s way to take pics of your kids, do so but don’t be rude. Don’t just barrel people over. Think about what you are doing.
Whenever my kids got called for an award or even their diploma, I weaved my way to the front to take a picture. If you’re a little shy like me, you do need to get over it. If you don’t, you will end up with some wack photos.
I abide by the rule of asking for forgiveness later, not asking for permission to capture the moment. I didn’t care who was in the way; I just knew that I had to capture the moment before it was gone. Capture the moment but always make sure you don’t mess it up for someone else. Get out of the way once you have your shot.
In conclusion, graduations are special for everyone involved. Childhood goes by way too fast and you never get a replay of moments like these. Do all you can to be there, take dope pictures and have fun. You will thank yourself when you see how proud your kids are and the smile on their faces when you hug them. That feeling is the best.
A version of this first appeared on Cool4Dads.
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