Big Ol' Bag of Tears

I've been an emotional mess today.  Our eldest Karson is an ADULT!!!  18 years, 18 years - geez.  Matt has such an eloquent way of expressing himself. He wrote the message below to the staff at SWHS.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Our first baby is an adult.  How is that possible?!?  Karson is an incredible young lady, and I admire her very much.

I can't wait to see the incredible path that she is destined to be on!

FROM MATT TO THE SWHS STAFF:

 Today is a very special day for my family.  On October 22, 2002, Tiffany and I welcomed our first child into the world.  We named her Karson Ann Deaton.  How has it already been 18 years?  (To those of you who are thinking, “Man, Deaton must have been YOUNG when she was born,” we can still be friends.  To those of you who are thinking, “Man, Deaton is so old I’m surprised he doesn’t have grandkids yet,” don’t bother talking to me anymore!)

I’m thinking about the big picture on my eldest’s 18th birthday.  The first 18 years of her life, which happen to coincide with the last 18 years of my life, have gone by very, very quickly.  On October 22, 2002, I was a 25-year-old who had been married for only 3 years and had a nice thick patch of hair on top of my head.  Today, I am a 43-year-old who has been married 21 years (at least 12 of those have been good years!), and I can see too much of my scalp when I look in the mirror.  On October 22, 2002, Karson was a bloody, screaming infant who didn’t even know how to use a toilet.  Today, she is an 18-year-old senior at South Warren High School who has taken her ACT six times and wants to go to the University of Louisville to study nursing. (And it turns out she can run pretty fast too.  Can someone say, “REGION CHAMPION SPRINTER!?")  

When I think of Karson being a senior at SWHS, there are two things that come to mind.  First, it’s helpful for us to take a big picture view of all of our students.  They come to us when they are 14, and just four quick years later, they leave us when they are 18.  That happens really fast.  We need to make the most of our time with each one of our students by connecting with them as much as we can.  Second, I wouldn’t have wanted Karson to go to high school anywhere else on the planet.  She has had an incredible amount of love, knowledge, and skills poured into her during her time as a Spartan.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for every little thing you’ve done for Karson and for every little thing you do for all the daughters and sons who walk our hallways every day.  Your work really matters!  It really matters to me, and it really matters to so many other moms and dads out there.

Would you rather do anything else with your brief time on this planet besides make a positive impact on young people?  Me neither.

Sending love, good vibes, and the Spartan Spirit your way today,

Matt

PS- John Lennon sang in “Beautiful Boy,” "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”  I was looking back through old photos of Karson’s life early this morning, and it hit me that I had been physically but not mentally present for a lot of the moments of her life, because I was distracted by so many other things.  I’m working on being more fully present to the present and the people around me.  We only get so many moments, so it’s important to be mindful.