Tempus Fugit

WE HAVE A COLLEGE GRADUATE!

CONGRATULATIONS BEN HEDGES, LORAS COLLEGE CLASS OF 2017!

Man, this week went by quick. And it wasn’t just the week that went by quick. I spent the weekend in Dubuque, Iowa having the pleasure of watching my son Ben graduate from Loras College. My wife and I both thought that the ceremony was perfect, and of course it was over before we knew it. I sat there in the gymnasium thinking of all the time and joys that were had as we watched him go from a child to a grown man.

It seems like yesterday that I used to push him in the jogger stroller along the bike path.

It seems like yesterday that I took him to preschool in Carol Stream, Illinois.

It seems like yesterday I waited with him for the kindergarten bus to come and drive him to school for the first time. (It never came – thanks a lot, Carol Stream School District! So I drove him there that first day.) He would meet another kid in Carol Stream by the name of Josh, and even though we moved away, their paths would meet again, reuniting as college roommates and Duhawk teammates.

It seems like yesterday that I would time him and his buddy Chris run around our house trying to set a new best time.

It seems like yesterday we stood and watched him run a junior high XC meet in a downpour.

It seems like yesterday we watched him make a big decision of leaving high school soccer for running, a decision that proved to be life changing.

It seems like yesterday Kari and I dropped him off at Loras and drove away bawling our eyes out. There wasn’t many tears at graduation, at least any that I noticed. It was a very joyful occasion that I wish everyone could experience.

It seems like yesterday we watched him run at the D-III NCAA National Cross Country Championships.

It seems like yesterday that he turned 5 years old, then 10, and now 21.

It seems like yesterday I was filled with pride, watching him get his grade school diploma and his high school diploma.

It seems like yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and the many yesterdays before, that I was filled with pride of becoming a father for the first time to a boy who would fill my life with many joys of yesterdays. I can only hope that the tomorrows will be as joyful and fulfilling as all of the yesterdays ago.

Congratulations Ben! You did it!