June 14, 2013

Bittersweet...

This is a time of the year that I normally look forward to, the school year is almost over which means the “routines” are going to change a bit. No fighting with the kids each morning to get up and get moving, no homework, no last minute “oh yeah mom, I need a 3x4 foot trifold board for our project tomorrow” at bedtime. Ahhh, I can actually feel the slow release of tension from my shoulders.



But first there is the end of year parties, the teacher gifts, the final tests, the awards ceremonies, the school carnivals…

You see, my youngest is finishing his 5th grade year…or as he puts it, he is graduating from Elementary School.  There seems to be an extraordinary amount of planning for this event. And as is typical, the same people have volunteered for this event as have volunteered for all of the field trips, parties, bake sales, festivals, etc since his Kindergarten year. I don’t know where the other families are at these times, or how they are able to ignore hide from the signup sheets, all I know is, I have seen the same parents volunteering for six years now. And I am going to miss these ladies (and men). We have watched our kids grow together, make friends together, get into trouble together, visit many local landmarks together and mature together.

As my son takes his final steps in elementary school this month, I too will be taking my final steps here as he is my youngest.

There are many things I will NOT miss about having an elementary student, but there are many things that I WILL miss. It is the lost innocence as middle school approaches, and the silly, small, milestones and celebrations that are just taken for granted in the later school years. The valentines mailboxes, the Dr. Seuss birthday celebrations, the 100th day of school, recess, and the “mother’s day gift” art projects. Innocence.

So as these last few hours of the school year tick away on the clock so too does the  "baby" in my baby boy, he has become quite a terrific "young man".

Bittersweet...



 
Smile...
Kim
p.s. both of these photos are compliments of that brilliant "young man".

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1 comment:

  1. Leave It To Davis14 June 2013 at 22:12

    It could very well be that when the other parents who you say are ignoring those sign up sheets volunteered the few times they volunteered, they were ignored when they showed up to help because they were not in your "clique". I know this happens because it happened to me several times. The last time I volunteered, when they called me asking me to help, I told them right out that if I showed up and no one would talk to me and tell me what I should do, I would leave straight off....I would no longer stand around begging these people to recognize the fact that I, too, was a parent and a human being and that I had come to help and PLEASE tell me what I can do....no, I would just leave. Guess what. I left. These women that volunteered year after year had no use for me once I showed up. Maybe I wasn't up to par for their dress code....maybe I was too heavy....maybe I didn't live in their exclusive neighborhoods. But I had taken time off work to give and was completely and totally ignored as if I was invisible. Please take care and don't treat parents that way. Because that is why you get only the same parents helping out with each party. Because when the others come to help, they are treated as aliens. I know. I have been there.

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