A heartfelt lesson was learned, thanks to the Sutton elementary last week...at least for me
THE BULL
Graduation week...for many graduates, comes as a relief, for some, it ends a chapter in life and life moves on, and for other graduates, this day didn’t come fast enough!
It’s been 43 years for me since I moved to the next stage of life, the after high school life, and while I wouldn’t go through high school again, I recall so many memorable moments with classmates that I also wouldn’t trade for the world, like road trips, sporting events, extra-curricular events and certainly those close classmate moments with the people I was closest to.
High school was, at times, exhausting, at least back then. It was taxing, as I felt it and saw it back in the early 80s, but it was also, as I’ve learned later in my life, formative, fun, exciting, and at times tough, to say the least.
Where am I going this week, you might ask? I may have tricked all of you reading this, because this week, as you will see a full feature of the Sutton Elementary by Diane Smith with photography by me, future grads of SPS took me down memory lane, and totally melted this “old man’s” heart a tad bit.
The Sutton Elementary, guided by their student council, under the guidance of Tessa Parrish, set off to take a huge tote full of “tied blankets” for a project called “Ties of Love” to the Children’s Hospital of Nebraska in Omaha to make youngsters lives a little warmer, a little brighter, and with lots of love.
As you will see on page 10A this week, we feature the elementary, as a whole, and the student council as champions of a most memorable moment in these young students’ lives.
And as these young kids grow, advance in grades, age, and become more and more involved with so many projects through their elementary years, their middle school years, and their high school years, I can only hope that on Friday, May 1, that these youngsters will truly remember how they gave back, how they provided support, care and love to children that are, and were not well, but the simple, and caring heartfelt gift that Sutton’s elementary shared their support.
When they reach the point of graduation, I can only hope that when they look back on their years at SPS, they will remember that in early May 2026, the day that they took great pride in how they created a huge hug for the kids at the Children’s Hospital of Nebraska in Omaha.
As the seniors who walk their final walk this Saturday afternoon, I also hope that you walk the path to your next stages in life as not one of “getting out of here,” but rather a stepping stone of sorts into the life that is ahead of you.
I walked off, lucky to receive my high school diploma from my father back in 1983. That was a capping highlight for me, especially after he was gone 11 years later.
That was a moment that I can still play in slow motion in my heart and soul. But I still hold dear in my heart so many memories of growing up in small town Nebraska. Drama was real back then as well, but to me, the memories were much more prevalent. At the time, I was the one who hated to move on, even though I was ready to take that next step.
Had I had the leadership to be a part of “Ties for Love” I can guarantee that to this day, it would have been at the top of my list of most memorable moments, simply by connecting blankets, one tie at a time, and giving back to kids far less fortunate than I was, at the time!
Thank you, Tessa, and the Sutton elementary students, for giving me another gift, and memory, even after 43 years of being out of school.
The best part of my career, is that I never stop learning. I never stop soaking it in, even if I am intentionally slowing down and not going as much. It is memorable moments like watching over 100 elementary students file into a gym for one big picture to record history and a memorable moment.
This will be my 17th set of graduating classes in Clay County. The students walking across the stage in Harvard, Sandy Creek, and in Sutton were one or two years old when I covered my first graduation ceremonies in the county.
A lot has changed in these 17 graduation classes. A lot of memories have been made for me, but when you see our youth “give back,” as I grow older, the memories, such as last Friday, grow deeper, stronger, and mean so much more.
The point is, seniors, if any of you read this, thank you, but more importantly, cherish the moment, not just “wanting to get out,” and move on, but remember the good, even the hard and rough times, but cherish them as growing memories as you walk across the stage Saturday afternoon.
