bonfire with the Boeffs...

i was off to the suburbs again! this time, it was for K's graduation party, and a wonderful excuse to catch up with her sister, C, parents, D & T, and sweet Bailey boy, the Irish terrier! high-school graduation parties, as i am told and am beginning to appreciate, are apparently a Minnesotan affair. i don't remember having one of these growing up... and suspect that anything vaguely similar would have to be a get-together outing that people do with friends during the vacation. no, i didn't ever have a high-school graduation party... the farewell dinner in Wales was something quite surreal... people were leaving in the night, bound for far-away places... many of whom i may never see again... i wonder if i might make it to my own 10-yr reunion! i sure hope so. in any case, the concept of graduation parties is a pretty interesting one... families have their own for their graduating child, and parents of students at the school collaborate to host one for the graduating class; the philosophy (at least part of it) behind it all is to (help) make sure that kids do not get into chemical-related trouble... i suspect the other bit of the apparent enthusiasm might be a Mid-western thing; it's a close-knit community and parents are very much involved in pretty much everything...

i often take so much of such parental-worries for granted. the childhood that me, my brothers, and my friends experienced, is probably one of the most sheltered you could probably have... then again, times have greatly changed. but i knew of the dangers and the 'stigmatisation' too of getting into that sort of things... yet, i am often awed by the enormous courage and trust that my parents have to let us flee their nests for the crazy western civilisation, aware of the potential 'harm' that we may encounter! then again, i know pretty well how rebellious i am particulary when it comes to asserting my own freedom!

ahh freedom... with it comes responsibilities; something i learnt, the hard way. the 'access' to freedom is part of growth... and celebration of life transitions is certainly a wonderful way to embrace these changes positively. there's nothing better to do so with family and friends; people who've watched you grow, and people who have been part of it too! i feel honoured to be part of the company at K's party... even though i don't particularly feel quite influential in any way... but it made me feel special to be able to share the family's friendship.

as the party trickled into the night, a bonfire was made in the garden pit... K, her friend H, D,T, C and i sat around the warm fire and shared experiences... i got to roast a marshmallow with C's help and let it sit on top of my brownie cake before enjoying it! B was briefly about trying to pick up a few scrapes of delicious left-overs. the moist after-rain night felt refreshing and earthy. there's something magical about a bonfire. it draws people in. its warmth is comforting... and the smell of burning firewood rekindles so many fond memories...