There comes a time in every parent’s life when they look at their children and can’t help but be so proud of them. Well, we had one of those moments this weekend when Jon graduated from Clemson University with his degree in Mechanical Engineering. Oh yeah!! What a feeling it was to watch him walk across that stage at Littlejohn Coliseum and accept his diploma. What made it even more special is that he was surrounded by most of his family. Of course, Jamie, Cynthy, and Melissa were there but also in attendance were his Pop Pop, his aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Jon’s girlfriend Alli also graduated that day with a degree in Graphic Communications but her graduation wasn’t until later in the day so they were both able to attend each other’s ceremony.

The festivities for Jon’s big day started on Thursday night when our entire group met for a celebratory dinner at a local restaurant and I don’t even have to tell you that, as always, when the Yates family gets together, a great time was had by all. Of course we ended up being the last to leave the restaurant (that is just normal procedure for us) and then gathered at Jon’s townhouse to open gifts and share the fun times. Unfortunately, Jon’s graduation was at 9:30 the next morning and he had to be there fairly early, so we had to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

The graduation was inside, but the day was picture perfect. Before the ceremony, my brother Jeff walked around the entire coliseum looking for Jon as he was standing in line. Once Jeff found him he had to come back and tell Toni and, of course, she had to go see him, give him a hug, shed a few tears and take some pictures. Toni said that he wasn’t hard to recognize. He was the only guy standing in line with his cap, gown and Wiley X sunglasses on!

Well, the ceremony was very long and of course out of approximately 1,000 graduating students Jon was 15th from the end of the line. I suggested that we go to breakfast and come back but everyone else didn’t go for that idea. He would have never known that we were gone. Just kidding! Anyway, I think that we had one of the best cheering groups in the building and Toni had a great shot of Jon waving at us from the stage. Unfortunately, I nudged her just as she took the picture so we now have a great blurry picture of Jon waving at us from the stage. Hey, what can I say, I was excited.

After Jon’s ceremony we all headed for lunch and then some down time at the hotel. Most of the restaurants in Clemson were booked up for Friday night, and we were awaiting the arrival of Jason (Jon’s cousin) to get in from UVA, so Toni and Melissa decorated the townhouse and made a great lasagna dinner for everyone. Poor Jon and Alli, I think that all of us crazy Yates’ were a little overwhelming but they adjusted and we all had a great time.

Well, as they say all good things must come to an end and Saturday morning we all headed home. We were sad to leave but we will look forward to seeing Jon and Alli in Bristol this weekend. They will be there to help us out before they return home to start looking for new jobs. I guess it is almost time to welcome them to the real world, huh?

As we are all aware, none of us know what the future will bring and as parents we only wish the best for our children. We raise them the best we can, we try to instill in them good values, good work ethics and a love of God, family and their country. Along the way we hope that they will get a good education, find a means of living on their own in this challenging world of today and find happiness in all that they do. I have been so blessed to have watched Jamie and Melissa grow into successful adults and now it is time for Jon to enter into this new chapter of his life.

As a Dad the hardest thing that I struggle with is letting go. I always want to keep my children close, love them, protect them, and never let them get hurt. It is probably one of the hardest aspects of being a parent. But, I always remember someone once telling me that there are two lasting things that I can give my children: "One is roots to always know where home is and the other is wings to fly and experience what they have learned". So I guess for now, I will be content with stepping back and watching my youngest child spread his wings. Congratulations Jonman!