Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Goodbye Grade School


This morning I wrestled everyone up and out to be at J's school by 8:30. Today is J's very last day of grade school and there were awards given out today at his school. I've never gone to this ceremony before since the majority of awards are for 5th graders and I've never had a 5th grader before. And really, after today, I don't have a 5th grader anymore. I have a 6th grader. A junior high student.

Where did the last seven years of my life go? I remember holding his sweaty hand as I walked him to his classroom on the first day of preschool. I remember how he looked up at me with his big blue eyes filled with tears as he whispered, "Please don't make me go, Mommy."

Today I watched proudly as he walked across the gym to get his Presidential Academic Award. There he was in his shorts, t-shirt and ever-present black Sambas and I realized that in another seven years I'll see him walk across a stage again, but that time he'll be dressed up and wearing a cap and gown because he will be graduating from high school.

I feel like I have so little time left with him. I want him to be little for just one more day so I can hold his sweaty hand again and walk to the park. I want to smell his little newborn head again as I sit and cozily rock him while the rain falls outside. But, I know that I can't go back and instead of wishing for what once was, I'm trying to be thankful for what happened and happily anticipate what the future will hold.

So, in celebration of this, we will be making our annual last day of school trip to Dairy Queen to rejoice at the beginning of summer and close out the end of yet another school year that just went by way too fast.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ohhhhh... can't he just sit on your lap in a rocking chair one more time? For old time's sake? Before he REALLY gets to old??
I'm sitting here feeling nostalgic becuase my oldest is going into 2nd grade. SECOND GRADE!!!! Wasn't it just yesterday I was staying up with him all night, every night wondering if he'd EVER sleep????

june clever said...

Sometimes he'll plop down on my lap as a joke and I almost buckle under the weight! Then I wonder when he got so heavy. The good thing about J is that he's in no hurry to grow up. He still is a KID--which is nice. He's no immature, but he doesn't strive to be a teenager like a lot of his friends do. He's not too "cool" to plkay on a playground with his brother and sisters. The other day he actually told a friend he couldn't do anything because, "All my family is actually home together today and I would rather spend the day with them."

Anonymous said...

You always make me cry when reading your blogs. Jonah can't be that big. I still see him as that little 1st grader who would come into my room after school.