2 years ago, our oldest son graduated from High School. Our boys go to a small school a ferry and 3 bus rides away. (A 1 hour journey each morning and afternoon.) Obviously, he was our first son to graduate, and we were {blissfully?} unaware of the big production that graduation is around here. Somehow, living a ferry ride away had kept us completely “out of the loop” of the whole hoop-la of graduation events.
I was absolutely blown away on Brad’s graduation day. The boys were in tuxes. The girls were in dresses that cost more than my wedding gown. The school gym didn’t look like a place for basketball and sports. Instead, it was completely transformed into a breath-taking beach scene. I gasped out loud when I saw it.
…And was completely embarrassed that I hadn’t understood enough of what was happening to be a bigger help!
***
This Saturday, son #2 graduates. I was no longer blissfully naive of what was ahead. So, this time, I wanted to be a better help.
Yesterday was the first day of decorating. This time, I wanted to be a help. Many of the other parents involved in this whole process are seasoned pros. All of this was their doing – not mine! I felt privileged to be part of the process and thought you might like to see it, too.
The first step, I was told, was putting up The Net. When we arrived in the morning, lying neatly on the floor was a net approximately the same dimension as the ceiling of the main room space.
You can see in the back of that picture some strings of white lights that were being tested to make sure they worked. Then the fun began.
The parents carefully laid the lights out in an s pattern until the net was filled with lights.
Then we fiddled and fussed to figure out why some of them would randomly go off.
Once all the lights were finally working, the tricky part began. A center pulley was earlier installed in the very center of the highest peak of the gym to help specifically with this. Once we were able to get it down, it was attached to the center of the net.
Now’s when I failed in the picture department. You’ll just have to imagine the “hoisting up of The Net” on your own. It involved rope, ladders, and men willing to climb them.
The net was tied up by ropes at each corner first, then the sides, and then the pulley pulled up the middle.
The whole process took about 6 hours. Last night, my opinion would have been that it was a way too complicated process to justify all that time, energy, and tall ladders. And, then, today, we shut out the main lights and plugged in the lights:
I take it back. Perhaps it’s worth it after all! There is not one ounce of “school gym” atmosphere once those lights started twinkling overhead.
So, if you have the time and energy and men willing to climb ladders, it’s an awesome idea. {I won’t be volunteering for the ladder part!!}
Now, can any of you guess the theme the graduating class chose for their banquet?? There’s a few big hints in this picture.
I’ll be back tomorrow to share some more details…
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