At Sunday's graduation, commencement speaker David Limbaugh told the nine Saxony Lutheran High School seniors: "Honor your parents. You won't know how much they love you until you have children."

But the students already know what it means to honor their mothers and fathers.

The parents of the class of 2005 were surprised to find envelopes on their seats, each containing a letter written by their children. The letters, which gave praise and thanks to the parents, were written in response to the letters that parents had sent about a month ago to their children, at the urging of senior class sponsor and Latin teacher Candy Haas.

"At a senior class meeting, the students read the letters from their parents that said how proud they were of them. I gave the seniors pens and paper, and we talked about the sacrifices their parents made for them," Haas said. "The kids were excited and moved by the opportunity of writing their parents letters."

Lisa and John Volkerding said they were touched by their son John's three-page letter.

"It makes everything worthwhile," the elder John said. "You realize you've done something right."

In the letter, he thanked his parents for everything, from the toys he received as a child to the more recent gift of a car. He described himself as "forever indebted" to his parents.

Debbie Huey cried when she received the letter from her son, Robert. "Boys are not always open with emotions. You could tell his words came from the heart," she said.

But her husband, Darrell, wasn't surprised.

"We knew how he felt," he said. "We're so proud of him and his decision to join the Marines."

Salutatorian Amanda Berry enjoyed writing the letter to her parents. "It's easier to write a letter to tell my parents how I feel because I can't break down and cry in the middle of writing it."

Many of the student's letters, like Hannah Winningham's letter to her parents, Diane and Paul, were trips down memory lane.

"Hannah's one of five children, so there's many memories there," Diane Winningham said. "It was all so emotional. We're very blessed that she had this experience in a Christian school."

The small graduating class exited the ceremony as the crowd sang a hymn.

And they didn't forget their parents, who joined each student on the way out.

nstanfield@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127