BEFORE THE LAST

The day before the last day of school is one filled with activities for both parents and children. The two awards ceremonies and one party for my three children made for a day spent almost entirely at school which brought them much joy to see a familiar face at a special time in their young lives. It is also a time of great emotion as they prepare to move forward to the unknown of summer without the friends they made throughout the year.

After having dropped off the three at school this morning, I had two hours before returning to school to have breakfast and get ready for the day. Much of what I had planned for today would have to wait until this weekend. Nonetheless, I did what I could in between Cinnamon's award ceremony and Saffron's class party.

Though Saffron also had an awards ceremony, I had to choose between her party and the ceremony. Seeing how Cinnamon's ceremony took a mere 20 minutes, I chose the longer time at Saffron's pizza and cake party which entailed a more personal time I could spend with her in her classroom. It also meant I had a longer break in which to drive to the store and get the tortillas I needed for dinner.

Sage's awards ceremony took longer than Cinnamon's as the kindergarden classes took the time to perform two songs in addition to getting various awards. I was glad to see Sage go up on stage to receive an award for outstanding behavior and earlier to watch him sing along with the rest of the children.

The end of the year brings about mixed feelings of joy, sadness, and anticipation for the future. All three of my children made tremendous progress since the beginning of the school year as they overcame many challenges with both a new school for the younger two, a transition from school in Berlin for half the year for Saffron, and dealing with a new family life for all three. Despite all of those circumstances, they all worked hard and moved forward to the next grade which makes me very proud of all three of my children.