"Reaping the Harvest................."

Mid-nineties yesterday for my grandson’s graduation party, but a cool breeze took a bit of the heaviness off the heat. The son-in-law had mowed the huge field between their log cabin and the road, moved the family cars down to the far end to make room for guests to park in the driveway, and then discovered everybody simply following his example until people passing by probably thought they were auctioning off the estate. Along with a couple of small awnings set up just in front of the entrance to the house, trees, here and there, provided enough shade for company to sit and enjoy conversation. A small basketball court, a volley-ball net, corn-hole units, and a new game resembling “bolos tossed to entangle themselves on miniature football goals” kept all the younger, competitive folk entertained. Enough food to feed an army was inside the house, plenty of water and cold drinks, but no alcohol. Guests gathered and mingled, the consistency of each little group continually changing. Good fellowship.

If the day was pleasant, however, friends and family tied together in marking a milestone reached, the crowning moment in the whole affair, for me, was caught by my camera the night before, with diplomas already presented and each individual in cap and gown now, one at a time, taking a rose with them to honor mom and dad. Lives do not always work out as we plan. Dreams get lost as we go, the journey shaping us, repositioning us, each story a mystery unfolding and a matter of humanity making and meeting its own destiny. I watched as some went to only one parent, others having to go to opposite sides of the sanctuary in order to complete their gratitude, circumstances unknown to me and none of my business; but there was, nonetheless, thankfulness in my heart as I snapped these pictures….