Graduation has wrapped up and another Memorial Day has been celebrated. During the three-day weekend, we honored both young and old as a part of what people affectionately call Grand Old West (Wet) Days. It was appropriate with this graduation date so close to Memorial Day that we could draw certain relationships between those who are being launched into the future and those who have sacrificed to help make sure that there is a future for our upcoming generations.

I’ve always thought that the true measure of a school system’s success is wrapped up in so many other things than simply a test score or a graduation rate. How are former students doing five, or 10, or 15 years after their experience in high school?

Most of my data comes from the subjective, but I can say with absolute certainty that high school was a transformative time in the lives of my four children who attended Moffat County High School — who graduated with various honors, but none more important than the experience.

Experience is what draws out of each one of us a guiding and shaping attitude that helps produce a certain cultural awareness of the vast differences that all of us experience as students, teachers and parents. Some struggle through high school and barely make it to the graduation stage. Others stand out and are recognized for their academic achievements and athletic successes. But, in principle, each graduate wakes up the next day on a very similar footing: getting ready to take a huge step into the future.

Context is important, and what drives young people into an unknown future is the expectation that there will be a future to be a part of, and that is why we celebrate the sacrifices of those who choose to, and have chosen to, enter service to our country in the expectation that they might ultimately protect the very nature of our republic against those who might wish to threaten or diminish our way of life.

As my youngest son enters his senior year of college and I think about the older three who have graduated with various degrees, it is with a full knowledge that my story is not unique, but that I share in this American Dream to have family that has taken full advantage of the benefits afforded them by their time at Moffat County High School. Each of their respective roads was different, but each has managed to construct a unique perspective on their lives and how they approach this idea of success.

What high school really teaches us, as evidenced by the celebration each year, is that so often the truism that: “You get out what you put in” wraps up the 12 or 13 years of education that students receive — not just in the classroom, but from the experiences.

But, honoring those who have “made the ultimate sacrifice” ties each one of us to the understanding that celebrations and honors require a deep gratitude for a way of life that is protected, and affords us the privilege of future days ahead.

The road for each of us winds through a vast array of experiences, but make no mistake, we all have a story to tell, and if we listen, we can hear the voices of the past urging us forward and the voices of the present speaking words of hope into an exciting but uncertain future.

Profound thanks to those who have served, and still serve in the many capacities that make up our community, and a reserved excitement for those who have set sail to help fashion our future. Their names are added to the tapestry of hope for our future days ahead.

As I listen each year to the names read aloud at the memorial service at our local cemetery and experience the 21-gun salute along with the playing of Taps, it reminds me that these names are what strengthens the fabric in our tapestry that covers our nation with a strong sense of gratitude and appreciation for our unique way of life in America.

Lance Scranton is a career educator and has made his home in Moffat County for the past 25 years. He offers his views and opinions as part of the ongoing conversation about our community, country and world. Reach him at lance.scranton@consultant.com.