Theo graduates 6th grade

Theo graduated from 6th grade today in a nice ceremony at school, which officially ends our elementary school experience which began in 2017 when Bobby started kindergarten. What a long, strange trip it’s been!

As always, I have mixed feelings about it all - part of me is done with the little kid stuff and ready to move on to the next phase, and with Bobby two years ahead I know exactly what that will look like. But I couldn’t help but look a little longingly at the parents at graduation cradling newborns or corralling littler kids - all of that is in the rear view mirror for me now; it’s hard not to get a little misty about it. Any ideas I had about getting really involved in their elementary schools and really bonding with the other parents is over - things went down the way they did, and that’s it. I stood a chance at their old school, but then Covid ruined that momentum and we never really recovered. 

Theo got a citizenship award (no doubt for being a kinder helper all year) and the presidential silver award (with our loathsome president’s sociopathic signature on it - I thought about blacking it out, but then thought it might make an interesting historical artifact some day). Bobby played hooky from his last day of school to be there, and of his own volition chose to dress up. Now we’re home sorting through Theo’s leftover supplies and artwork, then we’ll go for lunch and end of school ice cream later. I asked Bobby if he would still get ice cream on the day he gets his Masters and he said yes. 

We’ve got a few days to prepare for Hawaii and then we leave on Monday. I’m looking forward to having this time off from the daily grind, especially dragging myself and everyone else out of bed (to be fair, Theo’s always up because he’s a morning person, but Bobby and I hate it). The kids don’t start their summer camp until after 4th of July, so we have a nice long break before we have to be on a schedule again.

On to High School

Bobby graduated from 8th grade on Thursday. There were no caps and gowns and no diplomas, but a nice walking ceremony and some acknowledgments. Bobby got High Honors, Perfect Attendance, and Service in Action. I had him wear his black pants and shirt from homecoming, and I’m glad I did, since almost all the kids were dressed up. This is a funny age, since there’s such a discrepancy between the kids who have gone through puberty and those who haven’t. Some of the boys looked about nine years old; others could have been eighteen. Bobby is right on target, I think. 

We all got up early and went to wait on line, then the H left after Bobby walked, and I thought went to work - then I get a notice that our front door is open and our alarm has been tripped. I can’t check my ring camera because I just happen to be charging the battery; I have about twenty minutes of sheer panic as I’m trying to get a hold of neighbors to go check it out, and then the H calls to tell me he went home frantically to pee and couldn’t remember our alarm code. Why he didn’t call me the minute this happened, I don’t know, but at least our house wasn’t being ransacked as our 8th grader was graduating. It took a good hour for the adrenaline to leave my system enough for my hands to stop shaking. 

Bobby came home after graduation, but I did make him go to school the next day. He told me they did nothing but play hacky sack and hang out on their phones; and they have three more days of this. Grades are in so nobody’s teaching anything, they’re just being baby sat until they reach the required 180 days of school. Theo graduates Wednesday and Bobby wants to go, so I’ll let him play hooky that day being as it’s the last day of school so nobody cares. That means two half days and then an early morning graduation and then we’re done. 

My sister is visiting and we took a hike up by the boys’ old school. I could see the graduation getting underway there…I still have moments of wishing I had just let both kids stay there through 6th grade as originally planned. But I know I need to get over that because the kids are fine - they don’t regret the move, and it all worked out. I guess I feel guilty/bad that I’m so disconnected from their current schools and never made an effort to connect with any of the parents. There’s still time, of course. But I feel like I’ve failed in that department. I have my dance community and those are all the friends I need, really. But it would be nice to be connected to other parents.