Today I packed my last school lunch. Forever.

We’re in the last two weeks of high school with graduation a week from this Saturday and the lovely and talented Casey is on half-days from this point forward as her school year limps to the end. No more dragging myself upstairs at 6AM after five hours of sleep and contemplating various meats and cheeses and fruits and chips and little bags of mini-carrots when I would rather be contemplating my pillow. In addition, there was the Daily Naming of the Child, where I would have to come up with an alternative name to Sharpie onto her lunch bag because that was our dad-daughter private joke. The year that began with Princess Sparkle Pony ended with Alice Inchains. As you can see, the end came none too soon.

In the meantime we will run the gauntlet of the Catering-Industrial Complex as we attend a luncheon tomorrow put on by her high school athletic department for the thirty or so athletes who will be going on to play their sports at the collegiate level, the banquet Thursday night for her soccer team, the senior luncheon for students and parents next Thursday, and then graduation…and a luncheon. It’s like a series of bacchanalias before the baccalaureate.

Then there will be ten weeks of summer before she boards a plane for Chaminade University of Honolulu for two weeks of two-a-days before the season starts.

A few words about how we selected Chaminade. After Casey’s knee injury the Division I schools that had shown an interest in her, disappeared on us and her club director suggested that she consider D-II schools that would be glad to have her. Our requirements were that it be a small school (she’s attended small private schools for all but 1 1/2 years), that it not be in the midwest or far from an ocean (fearing culture shock) and that it offer her chosen major, Forensic Science. Chaminade fielded their first womens soccer team last year ( hastily put together last July) , only has 1500 students, offers as BS in Forensic Science, and that ocean part is pretty self evident. After making trips to several UC’s and and a few other universities in the Bay Area, it was an easy choice for her and we support it fully.

It’s weird thinking that she’ll be on an island and not somewhere up the coast where she can easily come home during breaks or for a weekend and that is going to take some getting used to. We won’t get to see her play as much as we would have liked, but since she made the traveling team already, we know that she will touch down briefly on the mainland (or as I call it: America) during the season and we will probably plan some vacation time in Hawaii during the season.

I can think of a lot worse places to go.

So this is it. The first and only child steps away from being on her way and I wish I could say that I’m ready for it, but I’m not. I’m starting to miss her already.

Making lunch at 6AM… not so much.