I am so proud of my awesomely wonderful Younger Daughter, who graduated summa cum laude today from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with honors in English. In addition, she was chosen to carry the School of Arts and Humanities banner — she was a banner-arian! And she did a fantastic job, too. We all got great reserved seats because she was a special honored graduate, which meant we were up close and personal and didn’t have to wait in line in the cold and the rain, for which we thanked her very much. And I only cried just a little, little  bit.  As of this moment right now, after more than 20 years, I have no children in any kind of school whatsoever. Sort of strange, you know? Wasn’t it just yesterday my daughters were doing Christmas pageants in preschool? But, bonus: No more checks to UAB. I asked Dear Husband if he felt rich now that we were no longer paying tuition, and he just sighed so I’m guessing that’s probably a “no.” Anyway, my parents and my brother and his family, all from Tennessee, came down, along with Younger Daughter’s dad and step-mother and we all went out to eat afterwards and had a marvelous time. Younger Daughter said afterwards that when she got back to her apartment, her roommate had a surprise “congratulations” party waiting for her. Sweet! I noticed something, though: There are very few “Happy Graduation” cards in December. I had to search all over for some, and then the selection was sparse. So if you’ve got a December graduate in your future, stock up on cards and decorations in May. I’m just saying. Also: Congratulations, Younger Daughter! I am so proud to be your mom.