Graduation: A milestone of stress and enlightenment

As Simi Valley parents scramble to ready themselves-and their children-for graduation, the days become filled with endless to-do lists. Pay for prom, get the proper clothes, make sure the kids get to their event and home safe again. Pay for Grad Night, give the "lecture" and, make sure the kids get home safe again. There are other expenses, too, for caps and gowns, class rings, senior pictures, banquets, picnics-you name it.

It's a regimen that would challenge anybody. Throw in all the other work that comes about during the course of a normal week-groceries, house cleaning and so forth-and we could easily find ourselves on the cusp of a total meltdown. But this, too, shall pass. There is hope.

Remember: Our kids are going to grow up in spite of us. No matter how much we stress, fuss, stew or tense up, every aspect of this rite of passage is going to happen regardless. So why not just accept the inevitable and go with the flow? Take a deep breath and remember John Lennon's warning many years ago: "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

As graduation approaches, step away from the stress and force yourself to relax and enjoy the miracle of an event you worked so hard to bring about. All these years of hard effort are finally coming to fruition. Your child, after all, is graduating from school. It's a bittersweet period in everyone's life and a time for parents to both celebrate and let go. Now it's up to the grad to take what you have armed them with and put it to work. And because our duty as parents has been fulfilled, we too can celebrate and bask in the glory.

Our child has reached a milestone. And so have we.