Check It. Proof That I Did Graduate High School.

I had an afternoon to spare recently, so I did a quick little sewing project that was long overdue.  Take a gander at my old beat up checkbook below.  

Lacks a little flair, wouldn't you say?  Except for one thing.  Notice the big white card on the middle of my checkbook (hard to miss, I suppose)?  Let's take a closer look:

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.  That IS my high school diploma.  Shrunk down and laminated, made to fit right in my wallet.  A gift from HHS as they sent me out into the "real world".  The gift of preparedness: that I should always be armed and ready to present my high school diploma in case I would ever need to prove it to somebody.  And goodness knows I've said and done plenty that could leave a person wondering...  

Obviously I still carry it around with me almost a decade later.  In college, I was shocked to discover that my boyfriend (future husband) didn't have one in his wallet as well.    I guess I thought everyone received a tiny diploma when they graduated high school.  He still makes fun of me today for carrying it around.  Jealous, that's what I say.  He wishes he was a Hillsboro Hiltopper!  (And, yes, I did spell it correctly...where I come from we spell it as one word and with only one L...the right way.)  But let's get back on track.

The old brown checkbook and I have been through so much together.  I remember buying it at Walmart in high school, a purchase that I felt to be very grown up and sophisticated.  Whipping out the checkbook to flourish my signature on a check seemed glamorous and oh-so-mature.  But to everything there is a season.  So, out with the old and in with the new...

Ta-da!  Much better.

And the inside.

I am sad to point out that I no longer have a piece of vinyl on the front to proudly display my diploma.  But you might notice it peeking out of the top pocket in the second picture.  It will never leave me.  I will always need proof that I graduated high school, just in case.

And now for a blast from the past...

Me, a high school graduate, with Mom and Dad.  :)