The end of an era

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor

Well, it’s here… I’ve known it was coming for some time now, but it still seems almost out of nowhere. Two things are happening today: My daughter is turning 18 years old, and she is graduating from high school.

Talk about a one-two-punch… ouch and double-ouch.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am well aware that this is how it works. We’ve already done this twice before with her older brothers, who are 8 and 10 yeats older than her, but this is a bit different for a couple of reasons. One, she’s a girl. Call it sexist if you like, but there’s just something different about sending a young woman out in the world than a young man. I don’t know why. And two, and perhaps more importantly, she’s the baby of the family, the last kid at home, so for the first time since 1994, my wife and I don’t have any “kids” to raise.

See VIEWPOINT, page A5 VIEWPOINT

From page A4

Sure, sure, she’ll still be living at home with us for the summer, but come August, she’ll be packing up and moving up to Fayetteville for college. And her brother and he wife, and my sister and her family are already up there, less than half-an-hour away from the University of Arkansas, so she won’t be a “all alone” as she could be, but she’ll be five hours away from us, and that’s a long way in the event of some unforeseen crisis (it’s certainly too far away for “Can you bring me some lunch?” or “My car is making a funny sound.”).

But, I get it. She’s an adult now. She will, however, still be my little girl, just like how her brothers, now 28 and 26 years old, will always be “my boys,” even when they are 50. It’s that time of the year, though, and I know I’m not alone. Kids are grauating all over the place this month and my scenario is being played out in one form or another in households across Crittenden County and across Arkansas.

Maybe it’s your first one to graduate (which is a whole different beast to deal with), or maybe you’re looking forward to finally having an empty nest… which isn’t me, but I totally get it.

Either way, enjoy the summer with your grad and congrats to all the members of the Class of 2024. You did it!

As for me, I guess with old what’s-her-name moving out, I can focus on the grandson…