for the grad

This is the first time in many, many years that I haven't thought about the end of a semester, the end of a school year, or how many more we have left before graduation. It's kind of crazy.

Last year as Clay's graduation date approached I knew I wanted to do something special for him. After years and years of hard work and sacrifice, he was finally graduating from law school! I decided to get his whole family in on it, so I put together a book full of letters from his parents, siblings, and a few other loved ones. It was a complete surprise when he opened it up and got to read how proud we all are of him and how much he means to us. It truly was a special moment.

To make the book, I printed out pieces of lined paper and mailed them to family members and included a stamped and self-addressed envelope. All they had to do was write their message and mail it back to me. I also included favorite family pictures throughout the book as well. It only took a few hours (two naptimes, to be exact) to put together once I had all the pieces.

If you have a soon-to-be graduate in your life that you'd like to celebrate I suggest doing something like this. Not only is it a great gift in the moment, but it is full of words that will be appreciated and read over and over again for years to come. Working hard for your education is something that deserves to be recognized. And we should never ignore an opportunity to let someone know how much we love and look up to them.