‘Dear Class of 2020, we are rooting for you, praying for you, and cheering for you.’: Woman says ‘you remind us of where we’ve been, and give us hope for where we’re all going’

“Dear Class of 2020, we are rooting for you, praying for you, and cheering for you.

We are not your parents or grandparents or siblings or aunts or uncles. We are not the people who can tell stories about when you were born or say, ‘I remember when you were a baby, and now look at you!’

But we are rooting for you, praying for you, and cheering for you anyway.

Some of us are complete strangers to you. Maybe we have our own graduates this year or we’ve had seniors in the past or, even, we’ve just been graduates ourselves. (For some of us, that was more than a long minute ago.)

Some of us have been on the periphery of your lives. We’ve been the neighbors, librarians, pharmacists, doctors, dentists, grocery store clerks, or local pizza place owners who have seen you come and go over the years.

Some of us have been your teachers, coaches, bus drivers, and counselors. We’ve watched you learn, play, struggle, work, celebrate, and choose.

Whether we’ve had any role in your life or not, we are rooting for you, praying for you, and cheering for you. We are doing these things because you remind us of where we’ve been, and you give us hope for where we’re all going.

So if in the days and weeks to come, you sometimes sense you’re hearing the roar of a crowd you cannot see, that’s us.

Rooting for you, praying for you, and cheering for you.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Elizabeth J. Spencer, blogger at Guilty Chocoholic Mama, of Battle Creek, Michigan. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories.

Read more from Elizabeth:

‘They made life easier by doing the things for me I couldn’t do myself, and even the things I could.’: Mom shares emotional ode to parents, ‘I hope with all my heart to follow in your footsteps’

‘I’m just tired.’ I didn’t press her about what was wrong. I let go a little. All their lives, we do this game of letting-go and holding-on.’: Mom of teen shares candid reality of having to ‘let go’ 

‘I understand you’re not in the stadium to see the marching band or cheerleaders, but PLEASE clap for our kids, too.’: Band, cheer mom reminds us to ‘yell, applaud’ for the marching band, ‘they work incredibly hard too’

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