Graduation 2020

Graduation - Der Abschluss

Today is the day Klara was suppose to graduate from Chapel Hill High School in a big ceremony.  400 classmates and their families would be sitting in the Dean Dome at UNC - Chapel Hill.  For those not from Chapel Hill, the Dean Dome is huge - it is where the men's basketball team plays and has seats for more people than Madison Square Gardens.

Instead a pandemic.  And so we are in our apartment in Switzerland.

Thanks to my dear friend Caryn who picked up Klara's cap and gown, and my wonderful neighbor Judy that bundled it with some other items we left behind - it was shipped on May 6. It arrived two days ago! After a week of rain - the skies cleared today and we were able to take photos.

Tonight we celebrated with a special dinner from a local vegan Indonesian Restaurant called Dapur. Afterward, we invited family and friends to join us for a quick graduation celebration. We asked everyone to grab a slice of cake and a drink. Four time zones, five countries, and at least six US states joined us to celebrate. Though Klara did not get to walk down the corridors of her school one final time - she got something even better - something extra special - to be surrounded by those that loved her.

As our dear friend Kathleen's daughters both said, "You know if we weren't living in a pandemic - we would not have been able to all be part of this."

So yes, we found today's silver lining. And seeing all these faces of family, friends new and old - brought tears and laughter to all of us. I hope they all know that though this was a gift for Klara- they gave all of us a gift and reminded us we are loved. Sending our love to all, especially those that joined us tonight. Thank you.

And to Klara - we love you.  

Be happy, be strong, be just and be you.