Graduation season is upon us. Within the next few days our local high schools are going to open their doors and unleash another class of graduating students upon the world. These scholars are finishing up one chapter of their lives and looking forward to the beginning of another. There is excitement, anticipation, and exhilaration in the air.

Along with all this enthusiasm there seems to be an abnormal amount of stress associated with a high school graduation. Who is suffering from this high level of anxiety? As a parent of a graduation senior, let me tell you that it's not the kids. Right now their biggest problem is figuring out how many days of school they have left, what they're going to wear under their robes during the ceremony, and who they're going to take as a guest to the Senior Celebration Party. They're about as unstressed, unmotivated and unhelpful as a person can be.

No, it's the parents of these seniors, especially the mothers, who are suffering from sensory overload. Our "to do" list is a mile long, with no end in sight. Something about having a child graduating and hosting a reception for them brings out the worst in us. We insist that the house, inside and out, must be spotless. The yard and gardens must be immaculate. Our reception menu must be flawless, complete with tasteful serving dishes and a to-die-for punch. We are making ourselves, and our families, completely miserable.

As for the fathers of these seniors, their job is to lay low, not antagonize their wives, and finish everything on the "honey-do" list that has been handed to them, no matter how ridiculous it might seem. I have seen a stream of "senior fathers" trudge through the doors of Barnett's these last few weekends; buying paint to touch up the trim on second-story windows, purchasing lumber to fix the garage door, and looking for the right size of saw blades to help finish a shadow box. My own husband has not escaped this maternal madness. He has been forced to paint the front porch and railing, clean out the back garage, install new mini-blinds, and haul an ancient refrigerator out of the basement. Phil thinks he is finished with his chore list, but little does he realize that I've added a new task: touching up the trim around the doorways in the kitchen. How can we possibly let Christopher graduate without having that done?

But as I look at my list of scheduled chores, I realize there is something very important that I need to handle before the big day arrives. This is something that I can do for the parents of all graduating seniors here in McCook. It is a task that is long overdue and needs to be addressed. That responsibility is to thank this community for all that you've done for our children as they've grown up and all that you've done to help us get them to where they are today.

I always marvel at what a wonderful place southwest Nebraska is for raising children. This area of the country seems to produce some of the brightest, most dedicated, talented, and well-mannered young men and women there are to be found. Part of it is due to good parenting, but a large amount of credit can go to the positive surroundings and community atmosphere that has helped form these children into what they are today.

A lot of thanks can go directly to the talented teachers we have. The schools around McCook are filled with wonderful instructors who give so much of their time and effort for the benefit of the students. Their creativity, their motivation, and their high standards have gone a long way into molding these students. I think of all the teachers my children had going through the McCook school system and I realize how blessed we've been. McCook is known for its legacy of outstanding educators; teachers such as Bill Kelly, Marie Coffey, June Bickham, Val Pullen, Joe Augustyn, Carl Smock, Julie Thomsen, and Ron Coleman. Without this strong academic group inspiring and pushing our kids, we wouldn't graduate the amazing young men and women that we do each year.

But teachers aren't the only community members who have given their time to instruct our kids. I can't count all the sports coaches; the Girl Scout, Boy Scout, and 4-H leaders; the music and dance instructors; and the church sponsors who gave of their time and talent the last nineteen years while our seniors were growing up here. So many people have banded together to give these kids an active childhood which has helped to make them well-rounded citizens.

The businesses here in Southwest Nebraska also come through to support our youth. They've pulled out their checkbooks innumerable times throughout the years to help support project for our school kids. They have sponsored sports teams, bought yearbook ads, donated to Senior Celebration or post-prom parties, and given to extra projects that benefited the school system.

One of my favorite traditions in McCook is the section in the Gazette that features the pictures of our graduating seniors. Each picture is sponsored by an area business or organization, and this tradition goes back to the 1950s.

What a neat way to finish up your high school career; by having an area business recognize and honor you for completing high school.

Our community members have also generously donated to the students in our school system. Think of how many candles, cookies, pizzas, calendars, coupon books, or buckets of cookie dough you've purchased throughout the years from young kids going door to door in your neighborhood.

This money has been used to buy athletic equipment, pay for summer camps, or fund extra-curricular trips. Some of the highlights of our children's formative years have been events such as the Fourth of July fireworks display and Heritage Days Celebration. Again, these projects happened only through the hard work and financial support of our residents.

So as a grateful parent of a graduating senior, let me thank this community for all you've done. This has been a nurturing, safe environment in which to raise our children. The level of care, compassion, and concern for children in McCook is unsurpassed anywhere. The people around here have given so much of their time, money, and talents to support our youth. And I thank my lucky stars that we decided to move back to our hometown to raise our children. I know that if we'd opted to move to a bigger city, the results would probably not have been the same, or at the very least, it would have been a much more difficult task.

Now that I've taken the time to properly thank all of you, I can sit back, smile, and mark "write column" off my long "to do" list.

But I can't rest for too long. After all, I still have some flower beds that need tending, kitchen drawers to organize, and living room walls that need washed. Come on, I have a senior that's about to graduate. There's no time to rest!