
Anyway, my favorite graduation-related gift/artifact has to be this card (above) I received from my 8-year-old cousin, Jack. Jack, unfortunately, was not able to attend my graduation. However, he made his presence felt through this awesome card. First, note his terse and to-the-point postscript. "Come see me soon," he writes, as if he were a drug dealer or a bed-ridden nursing home patient.
But the real joy lies in the drawing. My aunt (Jack's mother) explained that when she gave Jack this card to make for me, she explained that when someone graduates, they wear a cap and receive a diploma. She showed him pictures of each item for guidance so that he could craft as realistic a sketch as possible. When he showed her his finished product, she exclaimed, like the proud mother she was, "How nice! They're both graduating!" "No," Jack corrected her, "The tadpole is graduating," as he pointed to the tadpole's diploma. He then pointed to the forlorn frog on the right: "The frog doesn't have one."
"Well then why is the frog wearing a cap if he isn't graduating?" my confused aunt asked. Jack, knowingly, looked at his mother and smiled: "Because the frog thinks he's graduating."