Places to go, people to meet

The squeal you hear is me … riding my brakes … trying to slow time.

Burned out gears trying to shift into reverse. The break is my next best option to slow time.

High school graduation is in sight at the Armstrong homestead. And it’s bum-rushing me like NFL commish Roger Goodell charging the Saints’ bounty hitters.

I still recall chuckling when other grownups would tell my parents that my younger brother and I were growing up fast. “Soon,” they’d say, “these two will be off to college. Then what will you do?”

Flash forward 20-plus years and the scenario repeats itself. Only this time, I’m the parent on the receiving end.

This week, my Terrebonne High senior joins her classmates in graduating, marking the end of the first leg of her journey.

College is next.

Like every parent about to send a child off to college, I worry if I’ve taught her all she needs to know to take on the world. I’m preoccupied with her continuing to make good choices, make new friends and make her way safely around campus.

Since she made the decision to attend Nicholls State, I’ve been breathing easier knowing she will just be 20 minutes down the road. It takes me longer than that to reach the nearest Subway, order lunch and return to the office, after all.

But this week, it is sinking in … my baby, my only child if you don’t count Elvis, the pound pooch … she’s growing up and heading off.

Parents will understand this, especially if you’ve sent a young one to college, but I still see the toddler in her. The curly haired cutie who lugged around a wide-eyed, plastic headed doll she called “baaaYYYYbbbbee.” We tried replacing it with a more modern model but each time she’d roll over, the battery-operated voice track would go off waking everyone in the middle of the night.

I remember the kindergartener who rushed into class at the sight of new books, new toys and new people. She eagerly welcomed the idea of school while I sat outside the door sniffling, equally relieved and hurt that she didn’t yearn for me.

We’ve survived a lot together. There was the biting incident when a young boy wanted her purple crayon and she wouldn’t relent. Weekends spent applying paper mache’, markers and what-not to poster boards for the latest school project. Racking up frequent driving miles on endless field trips, choir trips, educational fairs and after-school events.

We managed to color coordinate special attire days, dances and even graduations.

We survived a year in transit after Hurricane Katrina while she attended an out-of-state school while I worked and rebuilt our home.

We’ve regrouped, relocated and re-established roots. And we’ve survived to tell. The first leg of my teen’s journey has been a heck of a roller coaster ride. And if there’s any one promise I can make, it’s to expect more of the same. Life has plenty of highs and lows, twists and turns, moments that will leave your toes curled and your stomach flipping or in knots. Hang on, prepare and enjoy. That knock-kneed toddler inside you always did!

To all of 2012’s graduates, congratulations on your feats and best wishes on your future endeavors. The world awaits all you have to offer.