School graduation brings joy, sadness for parents

By Hillary Rodham Clinton

I didn't know it at the time, but after dropping me off at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, my mother climbed into the back seat of the car and cried all the way home to Chicago.

Now, with my own daughter's graduation from high school this week and her departure for college looming on the horizon, I understand the bittersweet emotions that my mother must have felt on that fall day in 1965. And I can only hope I show as much restraint as she did before I climb into the back seat myself.

Bill and I have watched Chelsea make her way through her final year of high school with equal doses of pride, joy and sadness. We tried to offer her moral support as she agonized over college essays, worked on school projects and rehearsed for her last ballet recital in Washington. And, like parents across the country, we find ourselves fighting back tears as we contemplate what our days will be like when our daughter leaves the nest to embark on a new stage of life.

Over the years, we have done our best to give our daughter the roots and wings that every child needs to enter adulthood. Yet, as proud as we are of the young woman Chelsea has become, it doesn't erase the worries that we -- and all parents -- feel when a child goes off into the world.

This week, as we've gone to school assemblies, barbecues and other commencement festivities with Chelsea and her classmates, we've been filled with memories of our own high school years and anticipation and hope for our daughter and her generation's future. We felt nostalgia as we watched Chelsea get ready for her prom and then later marveled with other nervous parents at how handsome and beautiful our sons and daughters looked as we snapped picture after picture.

Bill and I have been moved by the affection and camaraderie of Chelsea's friends and peers and by their own excitement and optimism about he roles they will play in the world. We've laughed and reminisced with other mothers and fathers and shared in a collective anxiety about the coming separations.

We also have been struck by how grateful everyone is that our children have made it this far -- and that they have successfully navigated a world far more complicated than the one we confronted at their age. And while we understand that none of the graduates would have reached this point without the love, attention and devotion of their parents, we also know that many others helped guide and inspire them along the way.

Often, it's not the big moments or celebrations that matter most in the lives of our children but the little daily acts of kindness, discipline and encouragement that help them mature and grow.

I want to thank every adult who has ever touched my daughter's life -- every teacher from preschool through 12th grade, every coach who challenged her on the soccer and softball fields, every dance instructor who helped her learn plies and pirouettes, every youth leader from church who asked the hard questions about faith and conscience, every friend of mine and Bill's who took the time to talk to her or give her advice, whether it was teaching her to take photographs or working with her on homework assignment, and every staff member in the Governor's Mansion in Arkansas and in the White House who lent concern and support over the years.

Most of all, I wish her grandmother, Virginia, could have been here to see Chelsea graduate. I know she would have showered us with more than a few of her big, hearty laughs. And I wish that my father, Hugh, could have watched her walk across the stage to get her diploma. He would have been so pleased to see that his advice to study hard paid off.

Every year, from kindergarten through the eight grade, Bill and I were at Chelsea's side for first day of school. Overwhelmed by the passage of another stage of life, I cried each time, until Chelsea finally asked me not to come with her anymore.

This week, Bill and I will be in the audience surrounded by family and friends. And I know the tears will flow again.

To Chelsea, her classmates and all the young men and women around our country and the world who are graduating, we borrow from the words of singer R. Kelly: "We believe you can fly. We believe you can touch the sky. We think about it every night and day. Spread your wings and fly away."

Congratulations and Godspeed.

-- Creators Syndicate