Spent Mother's day weekend at Blacksburg VA attending the graduation ceremony .. The daughter of our former neighbors was the graduate. They lived there until the children had grown and were ready for higher education.

Over the years I have added people to my family I refer to as "Relatives of my heart" This family is one of them and my husband and I always considered the children "our" first grandchildren

The little girl called me Xander and when she was a baby, Bob, my husband was helping me to look after her. She was in her high chair and he was feeding her. He looked at her and said " I cant be your grandfather and I cant be your uncle so I guess I will be your gruncle" and that was what they called us and though 'Gruncle" is no longer with us they still refer to him by that name.

It was a weekend of turmoil due to tornado watches, severe thunder storms and torrential rain. The graduation ceremony was scheduled to be held at the football stadium and the university hesitated as it was raining that morning. The skies did clear and by evening we gathered at the stadium , dressed warmly as a cold wind remained from the storm.

It was a huge stadium and since Virginia Tech has a large student body I guess it is needed. If you have ever been in a stadium you know the seats are hard, barely enough room to sit or stand and rise up to the sky ..or so it seems. It was nearly full of family and friends of the graduates.

The large display monitor allowed everyone to SEE who was speaking up close and as it is scanned the rows of graduates you could SEE them ..using a word young people have added to our vocabulary differently than when I was young IT WAS NEAT!

Five thousand graduates marched in , the wind whipping the dark robes and after they were seated I thought they looked like a huge flock of birds .the robes flapping in the wind, many of the mortarboards were decorated on top and looked like colorful head feathers.

The thing that amazed me were the multitude of cell phones being used. Parents and family were calling their children and the children were calling them to announce where each was located. There they were , the students standing up waving to the located parents and the parents standing waving back. all communicating with cell phones.

It was certainly a change from the last time I attended a graduation ceremony. While it is a solemn and special occasion it is also a joyous one. The graduation was certainly that ..it was exuberant and joyful to see these young people celebrating their accomplishments.

Kathryn , my “granddaughter” looked very lovely. We have always been proud of her , this day she was proud of herself , as she should be,. She and all the graduates survived four years of learning , and a massacre of 32 students last year .

They did not forget that some who should have been there were missing,. They learned another lesson....that pain , and sorrow are part of life.

anna