Milestones

These are the years of milestones....it could not be more fitting that the school that my children have called home for most of their lives is called Milestones.  What a perfect name.  Every event at this time of their lives is most likely a milestone.  Infancy and toddlerhood and - we are in the process of learning - childhood is a series of milestones.  The first steps, the first solid food, the first words, the first sport, the first night away from home, the first taste of chocolate, the first pair of big kid underwear, the first ride in a convertible, the first visit to the beach, the first day of school......everything can be classified as a first.  

If childhood is a series of milestones, Jacks had a lot of them this week.  He started his week by ending his first successful soccer season.  This isn't his first season - not at all.  But this is his first successful season; the first season that he finished every game, he learned to be a good sport, he made mistakes and learned from them, he celebrated his own accomplishments as well as his teammates'. This was his first successful season.  All of that makes this trophy so much sweeter.

Two days later, we have reached the middle of the week and more milestones. First, Jacks got to wear his first ever necktie.  I never really thought about it, but that is kind of a big deal for a boy.  Maybe even a bigger deal for his daddy who proudly tied it on. 

Sister decided she needed to pose for a few shots in her new outfit. 

 

Of course, the necktie milestone came about because Jacks got to have his big Pre-K graduation.  This is a short little ritual designed to make the kids feel a sense of accomplishment and make the parents sniffle over their growing babies, plus it's always a nice reason to celebrate with your kids. Once again.....Milestones.  

Here are the kids posing in the front yard in their Sunday best.  

 

And the graduate......

 

We couldn't have been more proud than when he proudly marched across the room to collect his diploma (which was plain white paper rolled into a scroll - nice touch).  

 

I'll work on loading the videos on to You Tube later on.....the kids sang a few songs, and Jacks was the loudest and the proudest for each and every song.  

Jacks was amazingly lucky to have two of the greatest teachers this year. Michelle and Jessi have been a saving grace for us.  Jacks is, to state it gently, a challenging child.  But these ladies took such good care of him, disciplined him, taught him, and loved him all year long.  

 

After the ceremony, cake and punch was enjoyed by all.  Jacks posed for a few silly shots with his oldest friends, the boys he has been with since infancy. 

 

We managed to get a little family shot before getting in the car.

And the whole gang went out for pizza after the graduation.  It was a raucous good time, and everyone came home exhausted and grumpy and NOT ready to go to bed at 9:30 that night.  It takes a lot of sacrifice to party this hard.  ;)   

 

Yes, yes, this is a sappy and boring post.  But it was such a special, bittersweet night - all milestones in the life of your child are so precious, but also come with a hint of sadness.  The days are long, but the years are short. I want to savor every second.  

And, as usual, I am writing this post late at night completely mind addled from exhaustion, so all of my deep and thought provoking sentiment seems to have fled from my mind.  I'm sure I'll think of all those things I wish I'd said in this post in about a half an hour as I'm moment away from dream land.  We always get our best ideas when we're nowhere near the computer. 

Recently....

And so begins the downward spiral.....
Summer is coming.  And as each year comes and goes, one thing remains the same:  The last few weeks of school are so difficult as summer plans begin to take shape, gain anticipation, and just become a much more desired time of year than the one we're in right now.  The grass is always greener, you know?
As the children get older, their involvement in summer programs will increase.  There are the old faithfuls to pencil into the calendar: swim lessons, family vacation, art camp, some sort of sport camp.  As my interest in getting the kids involved in more and more programs grew, my method of organization began to dwindle.  An iPhone calendar is great, but it isn't the best for a BIG PICTURE glance at what's going on.  So the time came to go back to the old fashioned method: queue the giant refrigerator calendar. 

You'll notice this only represents May, and it's already filling up (and the photo is a little out of focus, but Nealy added a few events of her own at the bottom of the calendar).  There is a week in July that Jacks will be scuttled around town at a breakneck speed in order to reach all of his destinations, and there are some days in June that I'll need reinforcements in order to get Jacks to one place, Nealy to another, all while I'm trying to complete a 3 day meeting for work.  Joe will be very busy on my behalf (which he usually is - sweet husband). 
And this calendar only shows the actual events that we will be planning to attend.  This does not include the house projects that we are planning. (on the agenda this summer?  de-cluttering the basement.....again.)
So, why is it that we count down until summer days when the summer is just as hectic as the year?  I guess it's because I have the great privilege of being a working mother who gets to play a stay-at-home for a few months a year.  And I so look forward to my one chance each year to play that part. 
And right now, we have one more thing to possibly look forward to: a longer summer.  Our state has decided to implement legislation to dictate when the school year can begin and end while still mandating students attend 180 days of school.  The issue on the table is to begin later in August and still end before Memorial Day.  This is only about a week or two off of what we do now, but that means that some holidays throughout the year will be shaved off a bit and minutes in the day will be beefed up a bit.  I know if and when this happens, we will all have very conflicted feelings about having less time with family at the holidays, more federal holidays spent at school, and a few extra minutes in the classroom each afternoon.....but right now?  I can't believe we will actually have a little bit of August to enjoy!  We are so used to hitting the skids come August 1st because summer is basically over (we usually get back to it in that first week or so), even though the dog days have arrived and the best activity for the dog days is sitting still in a pool, not sitting still in a classroom.  
So what does all this mean for us?  All of our activities come to an abrupt halt at the end of July, mostly because summer programs have been designed to wrap up before the start of school, which was originally going to be early August.  But now, it could be mid-August.  A tiny difference, but it might mean that we'll get a little bit of down time before the beginning of the school year.  And right now, despite all the negative aspects of this possible legislation, that down time sounds like a little slice of heaven. 
But who knows? It might not happen.....
One things WILL, however, happen come August.  My oldest child will be starting Kindergarten.  I will be talking about this later, as I am not ready to face the reality of my child growing up into a big boy.  But this will be a major topic as the time grows closer.  Be still my heart.....
Until next time!