Today my human baby graduates from High School. To some people graduation is not such a big deal (my step kids did not even chose to attend theirs). I however, think it is a huge life changing event, and feel it is important to acknowledge and attend. The way I see things, there are certain life events that are really really important markers and allow us to move into ‘a change,’ of life status, location, position, age, etc, I like to celebrate and acknowledge life’s events. One of the things I think that we have lost a lot of in our modern busy lives are rites.Transitions that change your life in a major way (a birth, a death, marriage, passing a certain age (like coming into puberty), graduation from a school, surviving an illness or injury, retirement, divorce) are important to honor. Transition is not easy, even when it is a positive one. During the early 20th century, the Belgian anthropologist, Arnold Van Gennep, observed that all cultures have prescribed ways for an individual and society to deal with these emotion charged situations. They have ritual ceremonies intended to mark the transition from one phase of life to another. Van Gennep called these ceremonies rites of passage.
Rites effect more than just the person going through them. It is actually very important for the family and friends to make the transition too. There have been several rites of passage in my daughter’s short life already, but to me this is a biggy. I, as her parent, take pride in her accomplishments and note that there will now be a movement in my parenting from HS teenager into a more adult stage of her life (after she survives senior week at the beach). This marks a time when she will physically separate from me, from the family and her home, and transition into a new role, growing, learning, and preparing to be an independent adult in the ‘real world.’
Happy Graduation. Peanut. Reach for the stars!
Check out 15 Rites of Passage from around the world
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
DogDaz Zoo 