School's Out for a While

The seniors are having their baccalaureate and hooding ceremony this evening, but I'm skipping. Sometimes it's better to recognize when you'll be too sentimental to make it through the ceremonies. There will be plenty of moms on hand to choke up as their children prepare for graduation tomorrow.
After I turned in my last paper of my junior year and checked in with my senior thesis advisor (no, it never really stops), I came home, changed clothes, and went to the beach.
It was sunny and cool, so there wasn't a lot of boat traffic, except for a couple of high-powered cabin cruisers. They roared past and their wakes pounded on the shore, making as much lasting impression as a duck flying overhead and quacking for attention.
At this time of year, if you turn over the stones near the water line and look closely, you can see very tiny snail shells. They're a sort of purplish black, and they hold onto the rocks and sand dollars with the most minuscule feet. If you don't look carefully, the little snails are like pieces of black gravel. I wonder how many years of baby snails I've missed by not recognizing them?
The baby crabs are scuttling around like they have somewhere to go, and there are little sand dollars all over the rocks, too. Spring on the Sound is exciting if you like shore life and know where to look.
Still, it was the last day of school, and I felt like someone recovering from the flu --drained, tired, ready to just sit and stare at the water. At long last, there was time for that today.
I love school, but the first day of vacation has an incredible allure, just like it always did.