Graduation! (Bring Your Own Airquotes)

My baby boy "graduated" from preschool! Honestly, I expected to be overcome with motherly emotion, that kind where pride, anxiety about the future, and the sense of ceremony combine to set an unmistakably emotional scene. Or is that just me? No? Anyway, I expected there to be tears, but it really wasn't much of a ceremony (as is appropriate, I believe, for preschool). Miss Anne called each kid out the side door onto the deck, one by one, handed him/her a certificate, and sent the little ones to stand in line for a picture. Then we had a potluck dinner. And cake. I did tear up once when we arrived, but really, that was the only opportunity I had because here's what happened.

Duncan, who had talked excitedly about "graduation" all week, at home and at school, was overcome with anxiety, possibly sadness, and an overwhelming sense of pissiness for the actual event. Look at these faces:  

  

Then, once the "ceremony" was over, and the girls turned back into tomboys, and teachers turned back into teachers, and he was cautious but relieved.

And finally, he was won over by the opportunity to spend extra time in the sand.

In the end, he had a great time and allowed us a few extra do-overs with the camera. This is a MUCH better one for the archives.

Well, baby boy (because you will always be my baby boy, even if you fight it every time I dare speak the words), welcome to Kindergarten! 

April, Maine, and June: The Cruelest Month

The school year was a fight to the finish, and April, May, and June tied for the busiest, craziest, and insanest months of the year. I can't even remember the details now, honestly. It's a blur. May is always crazy so that was okay, but April got it started early, and June was not to be outdone. There was a parade of visitors at school, followed by a conference at which my colleague and I gave a knockout presentation, followed very closely by the SAT, which I read to a young man with anxiety AND dyslexia, followed by Founders' Day, followed by diagnostic testing of all the kidlets, followed by exam review, followed by exams, followed by graduation, all wrapped up with interviews of candidates for teachers AND an Elementary Director. Somewhere in there I attended the Smart Kids with LD gala, where my tutoring student won an award, and the Graduates' Dinner, where I toasted my graduating senior. Because of the relentless winter we had, we had to extend the school year by three days, which meant that I had no time off before I had to start getting ready for our June tutor training course. The next thing I knew, it was the end of June. Seriously.

Random picture of me, taken by me, in the hotel at the conference so I could send a photo home for Duncan.

 

Duncan being a ham.

 

 Mothers' Day at Hancock Shaker Villiage, where we had a picnic and visited the baby animals.  Look how cute Duncan is...then pretend I'm not in the picture.

 

Oh my gosh.  I wanted to take him home!

 

I did take him home.  But not in his Shaker outfit.

My former student, Samantha, came for Founders' Day to be on a panel of alums talking about life with dyslexia. One of the great things that happened this spring was that I helped her win an Intel Reader in a contest on Facebook.

August won a Special Recognition Award from Smart Kids with LD, for being an all around pretty cool guy.  Well, it was actually for his work running Kildonan's chapter of Project Eye-to-Eye, an organization cofounded by Jonathan Mooney, seen here with August.

Taylor graduated.

So, yeah, it was crazy, but I can't deny that a lot of good came from it too. I love my family. I love my job. I love my vacation that comes at the end of it all. Tune in next time, when I talk about the beach, the fireworks, the bikes, or other fun things of summer.