The night my son delivered his valedictorian speech, I thought there would be tears, applause, and maybe a few nervous jokes. I never expected him to stop in the middle of a sentence, look directly at my husband, and turn graduation into the moment our entire family split open.
I believed I knew what my son was going to say in his valedictorian speech.
Caleb had been working toward that stage for years. Not because I forced him. If anything, I was usually the one telling him to rest more and take on less.
After his father died when Caleb was 11, school became the one part of life he could still manage. I was working double shifts at the pharmacy. Most days, I was only trying to keep groceries in the refrigerator and remember which bill needed paying first. Caleb made his own lunch, helped his little sister with homework, and somehow kept coming home with perfect grades.
He was a good kid. He tried to be sincere with everyone, and he made me proud at every turn.
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