In The Blink of an Eye

Today we went to a brunch in celebration of Leander Perun’s pending graduation from Durham Academy in less than two weeks. It was a beautiful occasion with brilliant blue sky and friends and families gathered to enjoy a yummy meal. Leander’s mom, Stephanie, hired Carter to photograph the occasion which kept her behind the camera where she loves to be.
As I watched Carter taking pictures of the guests, most of whom I have known since before they knew their own name I had to blink back the tears. The years have rushed by, but one thing that is true is that these kids came out the way they were going to be.
Leander, as a young woman now, poised to go to Denison to play lacrosse, is the same kind easy going person she always has been. I pulled up pictures from a week Leander spent at “Camp Gracie” in 2007. Camp Gracie, is what the girls called going to spend a week at my parent’s farm, since Gracie is my father’s grandfather name.
Since Stephanie was a full time working Mom, finding things for Leander to do that did not involve Stephanie having to drive her hither and yon was a help. Carter was going to a week of riding camp at Mrs. Brown’s very ramshackle barn, about 20 minutes from my parents farm. Horses were Carter’s thing, but Leander was a very good sport about spending the 100 degree days out at the fly infested barn on the world’s oldest horses.

I would drive the girls out, leave them with their packed lunches and pick them up eight hours later. Leander had a wonderful attitude about the whole thing. After the barn the girls would come back to the farm and swim, kayak, eat wonderful Gracie cooked meals and drive the farm vehicles around. Everything they did was OK with Leander, even if it was not her first choice.
That get along, be grateful, make the most of things attitude has never changed about Leander. Now she is graduating and going on to the next life’s step. I know she will succeed because that is what she does. She puts her head down, does the work, and is always pleasant about it, even if it is not her first choice. Well now she is going to her first choice, something she deserves.
Congratulations Leander. You are a joy, always have been and I am sure always will be. I have loved watching you grow up.