When the Stars Align (Anthony Rizzo)

38| Graduation Day

Anthony

To some people a high school graduation doesn't mean much. A lot of people graduate from high school, no problem. But the fact that Tatiana is graduating top of her class a semester early is something to be very proud of. She had a 4.0 gpa every single semester, even with dual course and AP classes. She's already been accepted to UCLA where she will be heading to at the start of the summer. She's already starting up college courses and had a roommate picked out and everything. Thanks to her academics and involvement in the community she has a full ride scholarship and won't have to pay for much. She can just relax and have fun and maybe even change the world.

Unfortunately she can't walk across the stage until May, but she won't be here then. She'll be on her way to California to start her life right and doing what she can to make a difference in this world. So Kelsey's family decided to throw her a pre-graduation graduation party. They let us use the stage at the high school to do our own little thing and we happily take them up on that offer.

We decorate the auditorium in their school colors which is black and red. There was a stage up there for her to give her farewell speech and seats in the front for us to sit in. Her moms side of the family all comes and her friends and of course her immediate family. I even get my parents out here for the occasion which was pretty cool. I sit in the front with Kelsey's hand in my lap as we wait for everyone to sit down so we can get started. She had her head on my shoulder because she was pretty tired. They did a North Star special at the planetarium in celebration of Christmas and she created and operated the whole thing which was her first big project. It was a huge turnout and there was nothing but good things said about it. She worked her ass off but she was pretty tired now and just ready for Christmas to be here.

"Please don't let me fall asleep during this graduation. I will never hear the end of it" she begs.

"Oh come on, that would be hilarious. Everyone dreams of a graduation with one person and you fall asleep during it. That would be great" I insist.

"Anthony" she whines.

"Fine! Fine, I'll keep you up. Why don't you stay awake by telling me what you got me for Christmas" I say and she starts to giggle.

"You've had 26 Christmases and you still don't quite understand how it works huh" she shuns.

"I can still act surprised" I insist.

"You will be surprised... because I'm not going to tell you what it is" she claims.

"Fine. At least tell me what you got your family" I beg.

"I got Isaiah your Cubs jersey and some new equipment because that's all he asked for. I got Tatiana a bunch of stuff for college and some money for air fare to come home as often as she can. I got Trevor new headphones because I know he wants so peace and quiet now that I'm not home to keep the kids in line. And my dad got some stuff for his business and I made him the candies my mom used to make that he loved" she says.

"Damn, I got my brother a PS4 and my parents some Cubs stuff" I admit and she lifts her head.

"Christmas is about more than the gifts" she reminds me.

"I know. I still like getting gifts for people though" I insist.

"I know, you got me one even though I told you I don't want anything" she shuns.

"Oh look! It's starting" I say trying to take the focus off of Christmas and gift receiving which for whatever reason she hated.

She sits up and we see her sister step onto the stage. Tatiana had on her cap and gown and looked so grown. I've only known her for a little but she was like a little sister to me and I wasn't ready to let her go. I just got her. But I know she had bigger and better things ahead of her. I was still going to miss her though.

"Hello everyone, thanks for coming out" she starts. She adjusts the microphone and gives a cute little smile when she nearly smacks herself in the face with it. "I'm not going to make this long. I know you all want cake and ice cream and to get out of this stuffy gym. I just wanted to thank you all for supporting me through the first 17 years of my life. Whether you've known me my whole life or just a few months I'm so thankful to have you guys on this journey with me. When my mom died last year I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't know a lot of things, it kinda felt like my whole world was changing. But then my sister picked us up and she took a hold of our family. She found us a place to stay, made sure I stayed in school and Isaiah could channel his pain into sports. She made sure daddy was still strong enough to go on without mom even though he didn't want to a lot of times. And now we're still here and I just want to make her happy. To make my mom happy and make a real difference.

I can't promise that I'll go off to college and follow this path, who knows what awaits me there. But to be the first in my family to go to college I know that the possibilities are endless. And I don't have to be anything I don't want to be, I can just be me. And I'm gonna miss this place so much, I'm gonna miss family fun nights and Friday night football games and watching Anthony play at Wrigley. But I can't wait to see what life I'm gonna live" she says.

"I promised I wasn't going to I cry" Kelsey sniffles from next to me and I chuckle. I pat her knee as she leans into me.

"Awh baby, what are you going to do when she's actually gone" I ask.

"Wait for her to get back" she jokes.

"What are you going to do when you have kids and they grow up and go off" I tease.

"Oh, they're not allowed to grow up. They're staying with me forever" she claims.

"That's not how this works" I laugh.

"I don't care" she smiles.