They're All Grown Up

It had already been an extremely long morning in the Crosby household. From alarm clocks not going off to a misplaced graduation speech, if it could happen, it did.

"Serena! Let's go!" Brielle called up the stairs.

"I'm done," the eighteen year old sassed, running down the staircase.

"We're always waiting on you, Serena," Brielle teased, looking to her daughter with a smile. "You're definitely my daughter," she laughed.

"You two almost ready to go?" Sidney asked, walking towards the front door with a thirteen year old Ariella following close behind him.

"Yeah, we're all ready to go now," Serena spoke.

Arriving at the school, it took Sidney a bit longer to find a good parking spot than normal. Usually, during one of the events or sports games that he had attended at the school it took a little while to find a spot, but now, he had circled three sections of the parking lot before he had finally found an empty space.

Finally making it to their seats, Brielle, Sidney, and their other three children settled in and waited for the ceremony to begin.

THe graduating class was small, considering that it was a private school, so the headmaster had decided that during the calling of names for the diplomas, he would also announce where each student was planning to go to college or what their plans were otherwise.

Both Sidney and Brielle were clueless as to what their two oldest children had decided on, so this was going to be a surprise for them.

"Serena Penelope Crosby, sports medicine, University of Pittsburgh," the headmaster announced.

Instead of walking across the stage by herself, Seran was escorted by her brother, so the headmaster decided to read off what was written on Junior's card.

"Sidney Patrick Crosby Jr., National Hockey League, Pittsburgh Penguins," the headmaster announced. "There's a note here also that Sidney left for his parents. I quote, 'Mom, I'm going to take online classes, so don't worry. Dad, I'm going to break all of your records, so you'd better worry.'"

The crowd laughed and clapped at the same time, while Brielle and Sidney watched their babies cross the rest of the stage, diplomas in hand.

"They're all grown up, Sid," Brielle said, beginning to cry.

"They'll still be our tiny little babies," Sidney spoke, taking his wife's hand in his own to reassure her. "And, they're both staying close to home," he added.

After the ceremony had ended, everyone went back to the Crosby house for the graduation party that Sidney and Brielle had allowed their kids to throw.

"Uncle Marc, Aunt Vero!" Serena exclaimed, opening the front door of the house after the bell had gone off for the hundredth time.

"We're so proud of you, baby girl," Veronique spoke. "You and your brother both."

When the party guests had all arrived, the younger generation took over the backyard while the adults kept to themselves in the house.

"I can't believe they're eighteen and just graduated high school," Brielle spoke.

"I can't believe that they both didn't tell us about their plans," Sidney said, taking a sip of his beer.

"That's because they had a little bit of help with keeping it a secret," Veronique admitted.

"That explains everything," Brielle laughed.

"THanks for always looking out for our kids," Sidney said. "You two were definitely the right choice in godparents," he added.

"But, expect a brand new car for Estelle when she turns sixteen," Brielle added. "Then we can call it a truce."

When the party was over, Sidney and Brielle went into the backyard to talk with their eldest children.

"You guys didn't have to surprise us like that," Brielle laughed, hugging her son.

"We wanted to surprise you though. I'm following in your footsteps and playing field hockey while I study to be an athletic trainer," Serena spoke. "And, Junior wanted to tell everyone at the same time."

"Yeah, Mom," Junior started. "I wasn't even sure if I was going to sign the contract now or wait until I played four years of college hockey first," he finished.

"We're proud of you both," Sidney spoke, putting his arm around his daughter's shoulders. "Let's get some sleep and we can clean up tomorrow," he added as the group of four went back into the house.