Guys, this last month has been insane. These last two weeks, this last week… I have no words to describe them. My calendar has been full with event after event after event. I have screwed up on my calendar more than I care to share, not because I wasn’t organized but because my head and my calendar were just so full. And when heads and calendars are full, I don’t know about the rest of you all but I get super overwhelmed and it can come out in some less than ideal ways. We have had our share of growing pains these last few weeks. I don’t even know what I could do differently next time to make this end of the school year time flow more smoothly other than just take more time off of work. But now, it is finished. My kids still have a few more days of school, but my school commitments for the year have come to an end and I feel like I can finally breathe today.

Yesterday, we watched our youngest son graduate from elementary/middle school. Our schools did a 2 year consolidation process that eliminated our middle school so our son has been at his school for a very long time. Our oldest son is 4 grades ahead of him so WE have been at this school as a family for a very long time. Our youngest though, this just hits different. It hits different because he is different. In case you are new to my blog, let me tell you what I mean. Our older two boys went to kindergarten through 5th grade like it was nothing. They sailed through their elementary years with ease. Our youngest, aged out of early intervention and started pre-k in a substantially separate integrated pre-school at 2.9. At 2.9 he hadn’t even been walking a year yet. At 2.9 he was still non-verbal. At 2.9 when he got frustrated, he curled into a little ball that wouldn’t unroll even when picked up. At 2.9 we didn’t know what the future looked like for him. With everything in me, I want to say fast forward to the present, but I can’t because this growth process has not been fast. It has been slow. It has been at his own pace and at his own speed and on his own timeline since the beginning. And even though this was stressful at times and still can be stressful at times, it is ok. I can’t say fast forward because then I would be overlooking all of the milestones and accomplishments along the way. Like tying his shoes, learning to ride a bike, learning to ride a bike without training wheels, he learned to crawl way after he learned to walk and had to be taught how to in OT. He learned how to handle frustrations and not curl into a ball, he learned to talk, read, and write. He learned how to work independently and he learned how to ask for help. He has had continuous growth over the years, and looking back I can reflect and be thankful that there was always growth, even if it was not at the pace I would have chosen. He is not a cookie cutter kid, nor will he ever be. But there is so much beauty in that. He is strong willed and sensitive. He is kind hearted and determined. He is curious and motivated. He has the most perseverance of anyone I have ever known. While his peers worked on their work, he always had to work extra hard, adding speech, OT, and PT services to his workload. All this to say, that watching him graduate 7th grade wasn’t just another day. It marks another milestone and another accomplishment. He worked so hard to get here.

As awards were given out, we were so proud that his hard work was recognized when he received an award from his tech teacher. But what really blew us away was a new award that was given out this year, the Legacy Heart of the Pirate Award(our school mascot is a pirate-we live at the beach)- “for demonstrating leadership, perseverance, and kindness that will have a lasting impact on the school.” This award was voted on by the teachers and when they called our boys name, I could have burst. Sometimes in all of the hustle and bustle of needing to get things done, schoolwork, etc, we can overlook the things that really matter. The fact that he truly does embody these characteristics is such a beautiful thing. I can confidently say that in life, this is what matters.

So for our family, it is the end of an era. It is time to say goodbye to the first school our family has ever known, the kind teachers, faculty, staff, and administration who went above and beyond year after year to make sure our kids were safe and taken care of. From the teachers who taught remote through covid to the school nurse who probably had my number on speed dial for a season-concussion, stitches, scratched cornea, hives, broken arms… The unified arts teachers, the special education teachers, the paraprofessionals, the library volunteers, the classroom teachers, the principals and assistant principals, the substitute teachers, and everyone else in that building. I am so thankful that this school is the one my kids started with as the foundation for their education journey. And I am so thankful to God for always providing for us, through the good times and the hard times, for growth, and for making our boy into the awesome person that he is.