Kindergarten Celebration

The stage in the MPR has been gettin' an awful lot of use lately by the kindergarteners. I had heard about kindergarten graduations, with itty bitty caps, gowns and all the pomp and circumstance. I get it. Everyone wants to recognize the fact that both the kids and teachers alike not only survived but flourished in their first "real" year of school. But there were no caps and gowns and stuffy formal ceremonies at TVT. Instead, we were treated to all 3 kindergarten classes performing more than 30 minutes of songs (in Hebrew and English) and plenty of dancing. Morah Sue helped the balls of energy in KC into their t-shirts and visors and they proudly took their places. My parents and I had front row seats for the celebration (Norm was out of town). The entire thing was professionally videotaped, so I got to fully enjoy the show. Watching Lauren belt out song and song (with feeling, mind you), I thought I would burst with pride and happiness. It came as a surprise to see she was paired with a dance partner other than Sam for this performance (Sam's parents told me he was so upset not to be with Lauren that he didn't want to participate; luckily he recovered and did a fine job). So who was this tall, handsome new partner? Max grinned like a cheetah the entire time he was dancing with Lauren. Of course he did. That boy's no fool. The teachers joined the kids on stage for the grand finale and despite my best efforts, I felt the lump in my throat and fought not to cry (with rare exception, I have a thing about not wanting anyone else see me cry, so much so that I walked out during the movie ET 20-some-odd years ago because I was so upset at myself for feeling the tears begin). This school year has been quite a ride. At first we hated her class and wanted to pull her out. Circumstances required us leaving her in, and despite ongoing misgivings about some of the other students, Morah Caryn and Morah Sue have been so nurturing and wonderful. Exactly what she needed. She also has gone from gripping our hands and clinging to us desperately at drop-off back in the fall, to now eagerly embracing her teachers and fellow students as the morning bell rings and happily waving goodbye. She is growing and learning and becoming more of her own person every single day. It really has been amazing to watch. She also has so many fun camps and activities on the horizon this summer. Not to mention the grand opening of our pool in just a few weeks (assuming the weather cooperates and it actually gets warm enough). Kindergarten, you started out bumpy but in the end, it all worked out. Kinda like life.