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Dr. Cross, teachers, students and parents. Thank you for allowing me to respond on behalf of the parents. Randy, thank you for your kind words to us parents. I know that your parents are very proud of you. "Dreams go far." What a fine choice of words to use as your theme. You obviously know the difference between daydreams and the dreams you are talking about. I know that as students, we parents and probably some teachers have at one time or another suggested that you were "daydreaming" at home or in class. Sometimes we were probably right and sometimes we were wrong. A big difference between daydreams and the dreams you are referring to is that daydreams just stay in your mind and kind of float around. Whereas, your dreams are not only in your mind, but the important ones move into your heart and soul. One of your dreams may be about your future career. You are more fortunate today than your parents were at your age. You have far more options available to you today than we had. By choosing the right subjects in high school and university you can fulfill that dream. You can be a scientist, a writer, a pilot, a teacher, a computer programmer, an actor or whatever your choice might be. Some of you students were in the musical "Snoopy". One of the songs sung was titled "Don't be anything less than everything you can be." The lyrics start like this, "Don't be a leaf if you can be the tree, don't be a raindrop if you can be the sea." I'm sure some of you could sing the rest of the song right now. You all have the ability to be everything you can be. Allow your dreams to take you there. We as parents have dreams about our children as well. They are different dreams but just as important. Let me share some dreams that I have had with my daughter, Kelsey. As I talk about some of those dreams I would like you parents to please think back to some of those dreams you had about your own daughter or son. Kelsey, when you were but moments old, in the delivery room, just after your mother struggled to give birth to you, I held you close in my arms. I tickled your toes and I tweaked your nose - I had many dreams for you. When you were a baby and I carried you in my arms, I would tell your mom that I was going to put you to sleep and we would walk all around the house. Sometimes I would lightly bump your head into a door or wall and you would smile and giggle - I had dreams for you . When your mom first walked with you to school, into kindergarten, you were so excited. You still have that same excitement - Your mom had dreams for you. I remember a number of years ago when I started to tuck you into bed at night, sometimes still tickling your toes. Before leaving you I would reach up on the wall and Go to Page 7 |