MJ and I were at Mary Jane’s restaurant in Cape Girardeau, Missouri around noon and marveled at how busy they were. MJ remarked that it probably was a good day to be out of Carbondale due to it being Commencement and also the Saturday before Mother’s Day. It was not long before I noticed that many of the large groups in Mary Jane’s were a mixture of the old and the young with the young having a look of accomplishment on their bright faces and the old having the proud misty eyes of parents and grandparents at the accomplishments of their progeny. The University is across the street from the restaurant.

A young woman had a tiara pronouncing her accomplishment of graduation. I reflected on the joy of youth and all that may be coming. The easy laughter of the graduates was musical. The watchful relieved eyes of the parents said much.

When I was a graduate age I was often told to enjoy my youth as life passes rapidly. That seemed an adage of the elderly. Now I know it is true.

Life is a bit like driving to Cape Girardeau in that it seems longer to arrive at your destination than the time it takes to drive back home. I recall how many events in life seemed interminably long when I was anticipating them, but the time of them has compressed into minutes rather than years as I look back down the road.

Forward we look throughout our lives. We strive to accomplish the next task. We hope at the end of the day we can wear the tiara and the cap and gown. We will look for our parents and our grandparents too as we proudly and humbly enter the next phase of life.