The Time family's triple graduation on March 3rd, part one. My eldest son's high school special needs education edition😊

Good morning☀️ It's Time😊 I bought an ear cuff on Friday, but guess what! I've already dropped it somewhere😅 I thought I hadn't taken it off before sleeping, so I searched around the futon, but couldn't find it. That means it's completely unclear where I dropped it💦 If it's meant to be, it will turn up✨ Thank you for the past two days🙏 Today's question is

If you could become a different version of yourself, what kind of person would you want to be?

I have a body type that gains weight easily, so I wish I were someone who doesn't gain weight😆 I want to have a physique like my second son, who doesn't gain weight no matter how much he eats🤣

Yesterday's graduation ceremony started with snow shoveling. I got on the highway, but the road conditions were the worst, with packed snow and black ice in places💦 Plus, it was very windy, so the car felt like it was floating at times, but we managed to arrive safely.

My eldest daughter, who graduated two years ago, went to a regular high school, so this was my first experience with a graduation ceremony for a high school special needs program. I was looking forward to seeing what it would be like, and

Everyone was just crying😭😭😭😭😭

First of all, the parents were crying the moment the graduates entered. They were just walking normally, but I could hear sobbing sounds here and there.

The homeroom teacher was crying and couldn't even call out the students' names😭

My eldest son's high school special needs program has six classes, including vocational and general courses, so there are six homeroom teachers, but only one of them was able to call out the students' names without crying😳 The other five called out the students' names with tearful voices. My eldest son's teacher couldn't finish calling out a student with a slightly long name and started sobbing. However, that student replied at the perfect timing, haha, and received their diploma as if nothing had happened😆

By that point, many graduates were already crying. The boys were crying. The girls were crying. Seeing that, the parents were crying too. The current students were crying as well. I was shocked that a graduation ceremony could be so filled with tears😳

And then, there was a lot of sobbing during the chorus😭

They sang facing the parents and current students in the back, and there was one boy who was looking up the whole time because he was sobbing so hard. Seeing that, I cried too, and when I looked over to see how my eldest son was doing

He was just blank-faced😑

He was singing, but he wasn't crying🤣 What's with this difference in intensity, haha. By the time the whole-school chorus started, I think almost everyone was crying. However, maybe my eldest son's class has a lot of 'tsundere' types, as no one was crying, but instead—not that it makes up for it—the homeroom teacher was sobbing uncontrollably😭

When the graduates were leaving, some were walking unsteadily because they had cried so much. I had also cried so much that my nose wouldn't stop running.

Everyone is so pure✨

They cry because they are truly lonely and sad that they are graduating from school😭 That goes for the teachers, and it goes for the parents too. Today is the last day we can be in this place where we've spent three years—as students, as parents, and as teachers to these children.

Well, I didn't cry, but I did get a bit teary-eyed🥹

I thought it was amazing that he didn't get caught up in the crying when so many people were, but my eldest son was moved in his own way. He also said it was lonely because even though he can see them anytime, he won't be able to see them with the same ease as he did at school🤔

While crying, I thought that I was also graduating from these past three years. I changed jobs the year he enrolled, and even though I wanted to quit right away, I couldn't, and while I was dragging my feet, I broke a bone🩼 I did it three days before his final exhibition and sale, so borrowing a wheelchair to attend is also a good memory💓

To the teachers, the many people who were involved in his school life, the local government that provided full support, and all the students, thank you so much🙏

These past three years have been fun for me too😆 Thinking that the moments where I'd catch my son, who can't stop talking once he starts lol, and watch him grinning while I was chatting away will be gone, makes me feel lonely all over again😭 But, I want to cherish these fun memories and look forward to enjoying many things together as parent and child in his new place as well✨

【A cappella cover】 Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana / SMAP
(acappella covered by Dolphins)

The two people on either side of the lead vocalist, Ai-chan, are incredibly amazing😳 There was an Otona Blue version too, but since it's graduation, I chose this one.

Many of the students in the high school special needs program are very friendly, they can greet people properly, and when I had a broken bone and was in a wheelchair, they would ask me, "Are you okay?"—I am truly grateful for everything.

May the futures of all those who graduated be bright and shining🌸