They wore their swimming trunks and a tank top.
My son was never one to follow the rules. We set the rules for him, and he always finds a way to break them. If it were a rule that was of importance, he was pretty quick to apologize, but if it was a rule just to keep him in line, he laughed as he broke it. He never did anything we were ashamed of, but he made us shake our heads. He said it was fun watching us try to figure him out. We knew he would outgrow it one day, but that day wasn’t coming soon enough. When he got into his senior year, he told us he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do after graduation. He wanted to go to HVAC technical school, and do something that would help people. We saw a glimmer of the man he was becoming, but we were sure his hijinx wasn’t finished yet. During his high school graduation, he and three of his friends refused to wear a suit under their gowns. They wore their swimming trunks and a tank top. When they got their diploma, they stripped off their gowns and ran across the stage like they were on the beach. Everyone laughed, but the group of boys who made everyone laugh, were already signed up for college, the military, or going to HVAC school with my son. I knew I wasn’t the only proud parent in the auditorium. I saw several of mom’s with tears in their eyes and declaring that was their son, and I was one of them.