rites of passage

Today, I walked Savannah out of elementary school for the last normal school day she will have there. Tomorrow, she will leave early after the fifth graders gather to celebrate having read the entire New Testament this year. They have prepared a video for the parents with memories of their elementary years and their favorite scripture. After the ceremony, we will gather at the home of friends and let most of the kids continue the celebration. My camera battery will be fully charged for the day, and I may even get the rare photo of Savannah by herself. Today, however, it hit me that I was picking her up for our last normal school day. She gets out at noon on Friday, and my mom will pick her up for me. I am grateful that despite the weather adjustment to the school calendar, I still get to take the whole day off with her. I am not allowed to take a day off any of my last five work days for the school year, and as a result, I could not spend the day with Savannah when she graduated from kindergarten. This year the schedule was perfect as the kids were supposed to go a week longer than I. However, they made up their bad weather days by adding extra minutes on to the school day and having some of them excused. No such luck for me, I have to make every one of them up, and now I go a week later than them. I am already praying about the schedule for next year as I get off of work only a day before my kids, and I will have a kindergarten graduation and an eighth grade celebration to attend. Both of these take place during the school day. Working makes me miss so much. Yet, if I didn't work, I would not have Wyatt and Julia, so the blessings outweigh the hurdles even those that really stink for a mom.

So, why the lamenting? Leaving fifth grade saddens Savannah. One of her best buddies will not continue on to middle school with her. She has had a terrific year. I don't remember being sad like this when Zachary left fifth grade. It was a hard year for him, and I only felt relief that it was over and that he would be getting a new beginning. Savannah is ready for middle school, and I will still be picking a little one up at the same school next year, so enough nostalgia for now.