Countdowns and moving on

This morning was the Ring Ceremony at Chief's school in which the Juniors are presented with their class rings. As each young person walked in, it was bittersweet to see all the same players from my own high school days.
The mousey kid who went mostly unnoticed. The fun class clown who always knew how to steal the scene. Mr and Ms Wonderful; a matching set who were popular, humble, had good grades and were on some sport or cheering team. The rebel who was merely tolerating his high school time and everyone associated with it. The slacker, the beauty queen, the jock; they were all there. It was almost like going back in time! Do they know how much fun they're having and how much they're going to miss these days? Probably not. But it was nice to see that while everything is different, nothing has changed. And some day, Chief will sit looking back at these days with the same sweet sentiments.

Yes, he's closer to his own adulthood. But not any closer to wanting to take picture with his parents...