05/21/2026
Dear Class of 2026,
During the past month I’ve had several people ask me if I had written my yearly graduation message for the Class of 2026. My response to each of them was “not yet and I’m not even sure what to write about.” Each year I try to write something a little different, a little personal, and hopefully a little memorable…and each year trying to write something new seems to get more difficult. And then, just days apart, two members of the Class of 2026, Dominic and Mason, stopped in my shop and while we talked I said to each of them “It’s hard to believe graduation is only a few weeks away.” Dominic replied “it seems like only yesterday Mason and I were riding our scooters here to the ice cream shop.” A few days later when Mason stopped in, he replied the same, “it seems like only yesterday Dominic and I were riding our scooters here to the ice cream shop.” I smiled to myself at their identical statements and then I thought of the saying “it seems like only yesterday” and how often I say that in my own life. I catch myself always looking back, surprised at how fast time moves forward.
For the Class of 2026, “it seems like only yesterday” that you were learning to walk, learning how to ride a bike, starting 4K, playing flag football, t-ball and soccer, learning how to play an instrument and learning how to drive. “It seems like only yesterday” you were those wide eyed little kids full of questions, full of wonder, and full of energy. “It seems like only yesterday” you were visiting my shop for the first time without your parents and feeling pretty independent. As a class you can look back on your accomplishments in sports, band, showchoir, drama, art, auto mechanics and everything in between and feel proud. You’ve left a mark on our school and our community that is uniquely yours. Your class has given me several “it seems like only yesterday” moments that I will always remember–from competing in “Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader” with Sam Volden in 2019, to receiving a card with a gift of $100 from Mekebo Anderson during the beginning of the Covid pandemic thanking me for having the ice cream shop, to all the little everyday memories in between. I hope that as your life moves forward you too remember special moments you’ve had as a class during these past 13 years and think to yourself “it seems like only yesterday.”
Last year during our senior recognition at my church, I told the graduates a story I had read that I thought was worth sharing again with all of you. “Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied. “Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face. “Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “
The moral of this story for you graduates, is that in life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us. It is my hope that as you go forward you become the people that create something new, something positive and something life changing…something that one day you will look back on and say “it seems like only yesterday.” I've already seen you do it so I know you can and I know you will. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives during all of your visits to my shop–I’ve appreciated each and every one of them. I look forward with anticipation to see where each of your lives will lead. Congratulations and Best Wishes Class of 2026!
