How good it is to be a parent.

How good it is to be a parent.

There are days in every parents life when it simply doesn't get any better. How enormously proud can we have felt on this of all days? It was the week before our daughter's graduation ceremony at university and here we were gathered to see a truly breathtaking exhibition of her work at Bournemouth university.

In  a deliciously rural corner of Southern England our daughter succeeded in stirring all of those wonderful emotions that can only be heightened by actually being there to see the fruition of those years and admire the results of all that hard work. Pride is something that can only be felt at the core of our being, a warm sensation that can only be found deep in our soul when clearly there can be no other feeling than joyous exhilaration, a sense that your daughter has done so much to make you feel the greatest parents in the world.

For the last three years our daughter has toiled industriously for her textiles degree and achieved a 2:1, a figure so highly symbolic and significant that even for those who attended the University of Life this sounded pretty special. But here we were gathered in the inner sanctum of Bournemouth's most notable of academic grounds with a daughter who had passed her course with flying colours and a daughter of distinction.

Yesterday at the vast Bournemouth university campus, we were treated to some of the most hugely imaginative and innovative art work in the country, textiles and fabrics of the highest quality completely dedicated to the cause of creativity, far sighted vision and the most powerful ambition. Prominently displayed were a cross section of brilliantly executed designs, finely layered textures and a whole variety of richly decorated wallpapers, beautifully adorned curtains and an admirable homage to the special worlds of photography and art.

As a parent my wife and I were just blown away by the sheer magnificence of our daughter's three year course. Parents are always worried about their children from that memorable day when their children climb up onto their feet to the moment they start walking, a natural anxiety that never really goes away even when they drive away in their first car. But to those who have been there and have proudly worn the T- shirt the sense of overwhelming achievement that they must be feeling can only be matched a million fold by yours.

Our daughter gave us the complete tour of all of her hugely exquisite wallpaper hangings. There were  images of  new Woodberry Downs blocks of flats wonderfully depicted and incorporated into the main body of her work. There were mathematical shapes of varying styles and shapes, rectangular and triangular creations that the likes of Andy Warhol would have given his wholehearted appreciation to and everything that made you glow with happiness inside.

So it was that were taken around the whole of the exhibition including one very notable room including an eye catching video of a fashion catwalk with most of the students coats and dresses included in the video. There were innumerable sketch books, hundreds of  stylish prints, bright and bold colours and sweeping brushstrokes at the desk of some of the most fertile young minds in the country. This was an exhibition to savour, one to make you so immensely grateful that you'd spent so much of your children's earliest and formative years just telling them that they were the best.

Then when you walked away from Bournemouth university, reminding yourself once again that all of that nurturing, developing, coaxing and encouraging had been so worthwhile. You thought of the days when your daughter was utterly lacking in confidence, terribly self critical and too modest for words. You remembered the floods of tears, the defeatist mode, the temptation to just give up and throw in the towel.

But then came maturity and you remain convinced that eventually your daughter would slowly convince herself that she could do it rather than meekly accept failure. This would never be an option and by the time our daughter had reached voting age she knew she could do it and no obstacle could ever be so insurmountable. We knew she could fulfill her dreams because we had unwavering confidence in her abundant gifts.

Our daughter left university for the last time and walked out into a world that will hopefully be hospitable, helpful and co-operative, a world that will reach out for her prodigious talents and reward her superlative endeavours. All parents instinctively know that their children will never ever get it wrong, that they'll never stop loving their children wherever they go and whatever they do with their lives.

Together we all went as a family with our daughter, her boyfriend and our daughter's friend for a quiet, celebratory pizza nearby. It was one of those evenings when you just can't stop pinching yourself because you've brought up the most beautiful daughter who will always be perfect. And here's the thing. Nobody could possibly ask for anything more. We're deeply proud of you.