Florine, my wife, and I had a first event to celebrate in our family history. Alexander Pointer, our grandson, son of our daughter Amy and Keith Pointer, entered college. It seems only yesterday we were teaching him to fish when he spent weekends with us. He had a love for an old blanket of ours when he spent the nights and he still looks for it when he visits. When I first looked on him after he was newly born I did not visualize him growing up to be over six feet tall!
How well I recall his high school graduation from Habersham Central High School in the evening on May 24, 2014. The large football stadium was full of people and it was a warm, lovely evening. When the robed figures of school officials, teachers and students appeared it looked like an army of robed soldiers with flat top helmets were marching to overwhelm us parents, grandparents and others.
The program went well, and speeches by a few top students and others were lively and not too lengthy. Florine, my wife, and I had decided when Alex’s name was called we would hurry to our car and get out ahead of the mob. We naturally thought the graduates would be called in alphabetic order as on the program sheets. Wrong! Alex’s name was called among the last batch seated at the rear of the waiting graduates. Still, we did get out ahead of the crowd.
In a brief time Alex grew from a little boy to a handsome young man. He also managed to be one of the high school honor graduates with a star by his name. We would have been just as proud if he graduated period. We could see him steadily progress in school year by year. In his high school years he joined the Junior ROTC and in doing so improved in looks such as neat haircuts and in dress and posture.
Kelley, Alex’s sister, is two years younger. She loves reading and art, and also has interest in music and writing. In school she has excelled and gained honors as a Young Georgia Writer. I secretly believe she takes after me as she likes writing and also reads a lot of books. When she travels and visits she brings a book along. My mother was beginning to teach me to read before age six and a whole world opened to me. Amy was also smart in school and it later helped her in her business career.
Kelley will finish high school this year and she too will consider the next steps in preparation for life. No doubt the real test is the desire and resolve in a person to learn and excel. Along with expanding knowledge and skills an important ingredient for success and happiness is the quality of life, I feel her and Alex possess principles of life to do well, expand their horizons of knowledge and experience and find fulfillment and happiness. As a grandparent, my prayers and hopes go with them beyond where I can go.
