Bitter and sweet

Yesterday was the last day of school and I'm not sure who was more excited about it, me or the kids. I am absolutely over homework and field trip chaperoning and "Mom, I need more money in my lunch account" and making sure gym uniforms are clean on the right days.

Kindergarten got out first at 11am. I was standing there waiting when Robbie came running up to me, excited as could be, shouting "Mommy! I'm a first grader!" -- except that he's not. We're having him repeat kindergarten next year, which he obviously does not know yet. So his excitement nearly broke me in two. I just hugged him tight and said "I love you!"

He declared his first grade status several times on the way to the car, so I finally had to say something. But I wasn't about to go bursting bubbles yesterday. Instead, I told him, "Know what? There's no school for three months so that means right now you're a Summer Boy!" We'll tell him the news in a few weeks, once he's had a chance to make friends with some boys on the swim team who will also be in kindergarten next year.

After I picked up Robbie, he and I had a special afternoon, just the two of us. We picked up McDonald's for him and took it to a park to eat. Then we played on the playground for a while. I just love to swing. I don't care how ridiculous I look, there is something wonderfully freeing about my body gliding through the air higher and higher.

From there, we took some leftover cheeseburger bun to a nearby walking bridge and fed the ducks. Of all three of my kids, Robbie is my biggest animal lover. I loved watching how excited he was as the ducks swam over to where he was dropping pieces of bun into the water.

The big kids had an awards ceremony at 1:00pm, but I wasn't in a real hurry to get there. I knew Robbie would be bored and I knew that neither of my other two would be getting one of the first awards, so I figured we could be a little late.

So at 1:10pm, I was standing in the school office talking to the secretary whose daughter is going to babysit for me this summer, when I got a text message: "Annie just won a scholarship!"

What?! They always let the parents know ahead of time if their child is going to win a special award. Had I known, I would have staked out a great seat and had camera -- and probably video camera -- in hand. But in another "not Mother of the Year" showing, I missed it.

When I got to the gym, Annie was heading to get a drink of water. I saw her, gave her a big hug and told her how proud I was. I don't think she realized I wasn't there when they announced her name. It was only after school was out that I learned the scholarship is for $500 toward next year's tuition and was given to one boy and one girl going into the 7th or 8th grade who exhibit a spirit of service. I am so proud of her!

Charlie got a certificate for perfect attendance for the 4th quarter. I always thought perfect attendance awards were stupid -- avoiding the flu does not seem like a notable achievement. But, Charlie was so proud to have a piece of paper in his hands, I was grateful for the award. Maybe next quarter, he'll be back on the honor roll.

We celebrated the last day of school in a variety of ways. Annie went home and spent the night with a friend. Charlie had a buddy spend the night here. Robbie got a new (to him) bike.

None of them are thinking about next school year yet. Though I am mentally catalogging the things I want to do differently/better (like take more pictures -- I have a few that I'll share here later). But that's for another day. Today, I'm just going to enjoy the first day of summer break!