An open letter...

Dear high school senior parent(s),
What an exciting time in your child's life their senior year is. This is the beginning of the end of a chapter for you and your child as they journey through their senior year. It is a year of a lot of decisions and growing up and changes. Things will never be the same after this year. Your child will either go off to college next year, or hopefully get a job if they don't continue their education or they will be living in your basement. College and full time work is a big change from high school as your child will find out in less than a year. A BIG change. They will be a very, very small fish in a big, big pond.

Senior year is an expensive year, from start to finish. If you have not figured this out yet, you will soon. But this year will seem cheap compared to college or your child being out on their own paying for an apartment and insurance and food. This is life.

But my purpose in writing this letter is to let you know that if your child is not chosen for the homecoming court or as king or queen of something it does not matter. It won't matter in a week, a month or a year. It's not a deal breaker if they are not chosen. It's life. Not everyone is chosen or wins at everything or gets a trophy or a crown. No one has ever gotten into college because they were homecoming queen or on the court or because they had perfect attendance for seven years straight...no one cares.

I've had the pleasure of watching high school seniors campaign their hearts out, thinking no one was noticing or wise to their actions and behavior over the years for a spot on the homecoming court or chosen as king or queen. Trust me we notice, and find great humor in it! If a young lady who has spent most of her time being snotty and mean for the past three years is all of a sudden friends with everyone, there is a reason. I've watched parents cry because their child was not "chosen" for homecoming court or something else-big deal. I've also watched parents because a real "piece" when their child was chosen or crowned....big deal. This does not gauge whether or not you are a good or successful parent. Raising a good, kind, hardworking citizens is a gauge of how you did. Not a trophy or a crown.

So enjoy this year of lasts and the memories that come with it. Your child is about to "leave the nest" and things won't be the same after this year. And it will probably take until next year before your child realizes that all the silly high school stuff does not matter because they will be on to bigger and better. Only a handful of kids still come back or care who is chosen or voted for what. They are still living their high school days and need to "put down the yearbook" and grow up.

And a final thought to the kids who let the "not being chosen" put a big old chip on their shoulder and bother them..this does not define you. But if it really bothers that much, then maybe you need to take a long hard look in the mirror and how YOU treat people. Your classmates and friends are not stupid, they have eyes and ears too and see how things are.

Positive thought of the day: It's nice to see that 99.9% of the people grow up and move on from high school...and the 1% that does not gives us entertainment by their stupidity, usually posted to social media! As they say, "you can't fix stupid" but it is fun to watch and laugh at!