Finishing strong

For those with school-age kids, you know that the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square is actually a farce. Sorry Jenny McCarthy and Ryan Seacrest, but you have it all wrong. Ok, you have a LOT of things wrong, so add this to your very long list.

The true New Year kick-off is in either August or September depending on if your Governor is playing with your life at the whim of his pen and vacation schedule. Aligning to the school year puts “Year End" in June, leaving a 3 month summer lapse that is truly not part of the year at all. It’s nomads land. It’s bliss. It’s purgatory too. But mainly it’s happy.

What puts if over the top is if you’re married to a teacher. Then you truly recognize the Fall - Spring realignment of the calendar and you get why I find myself taking stock of the last “year" in June.

This year’s theme has been “change.” Just in the last month, the concept of change is profound: 

• Cali: 13.5 years of caring for another living thing finds me still instinctively looking to calm her every time a text comes in and dings on my phone. It was the same warning sound as her collar when she got too close to the electric fence. 

• The next phase of the cottage: A positive change as we try and set new routines for our weekends. One friend mentioned that you no longer have weekends to get your “real life” done so that collapses into the week. This is a VERY 1st world observation and not a trouble. We’re lucky to have such “problems” but it is a change for us nonetheless.

• Elise graduating from Pre-K: for the last 6 years, our days began at Milestones and our afternoons ended there. At this point, I feel like a team member in terms of my understanding of the center's rhythms and desire for its success. The center has made a profound impact on both kids and to drop-off for the last time and see faces I now call friends for the last time was really sad. Don’t get me wrong. We’re ready, since tuition is equal to college at some places, but also sad to officially be leaving this phase of development behind as we transition to a single destination for learning.

• Ryan completing 2nd grade: It’s been a bumpy year, but he’s ended STRONG. Lots of new friends, but still today, TJ is coming home on the bus with him like he has on the last day of school since Kindergarten. And though he’s zoomed ahead with learning, I’m thankful for the consistency. He's still walking the line between early elementary and becoming a young man. Today’s meltdown before school was because the gel wouldn’t keep a fly-away down. We solved the issue with hairspray and a hairdryer and his hairdo is in tact. 

• For Max, today puts a bookend on a very tough year of change. With the coaching change came a schedule change and he’s no longer teaching the Leadership curriculum he’s developed over the past 11 years. He’s adapted and actually has found joy in the lessened load that he’s carrying. He’s finding other ways to impact kids lives outside of just football and that’s powerful. He’s sleeping better, actually has downtime and is killing it with the completion of the cottage. 

• And for me. I’m 40. I'm taking stock. Today is about the end of the school-year though:) So onto the highlights of this show! 

The comparison pics are what get me every time. Ryan had lost a lot of teeth by the first day and then went on to lose his top right tooth on the first day of school in his new classroom, so you can see it dangling. Elise's hair was really short on top and has finally grown out. You can't see it here, but on the first day, she still had that little crease in her wrist from baby fat. It's gone now. She's all girl.

Each grade carries a tradition  at Valley View. 2nd grade is the “Literary tea.” Boys and girls are paired up to teach manners. They dress “fancy” and the boy escorts the girl through various classrooms. They then have tea and crumpets while reading each other their poetry (which was their last language arts unit of the school year.) There’s aspects of this that I love, though I do find it a little early in life to encourage the couple aspect. Ryan said he had to escort his partner to the bathroom, where he and another boy over heard lots of girl chatter as they waited to escort them back. Ryan confided in me that they broke the rules of politeness while waiting. He whispered to me what the boys said to one another, “Less talking. More doing. ”

Just Like Ryan, Elise wrapped up her Pre-K A experience in Ms. Katie’s class and celebrated graduation at Plainfield Church. It has been the site of every Christmas program since Ryan was a 2, so it felt kind of sad going there for the last time. The program was sweet and featured a Adams Family parody called Milestones Family—which now explains why Elise had been obsessed with her snapping skills lately. We somehow managed to get her into a dress that she picked out (after a major meltdown about the one I had picked) and she selected winter boots, as all 4 years olds graduating should. When it came time to accept her diploma, Elise—always the trendsetter—half crawled from her seated position to the podium when her name was called. It was purely out of embarrassment. It then set the trend for “most outrageous” acceptance walk…Leave it to our child to lead the charge. The award for craziest acceptance went to the boy who somersaulted to the podium. We then closed out last Milestones celebration like we always do, with a family dinner at Flo’s.

Ryan’s last day tradition is to have TJ hang for the afternoon. The parents then greet the kids off the final bus ride with an “End of Street” extravaganza. Basically we pump them full of sweets and then wonder why they won’t eat lunch. TJ and Ryan also covertly coordinated their twinniness. TJ wore the mint green shirt Tues. Ryan suckered Nami and Papa to buy a matching mint green shirt Wed. TJs mom said no to re-wearing clothes Thurs night. By Friday, the boys had manager to overcome their challenges and the twin plan was discovered during an early morning call. And now look like Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Twins. We then rung in the start of summer with a water balloon war. It was a perfect end to the year.

Elise finished the year with her very favorite type of day at Milestones: PJ Day. She is especially proud of her hand-me-down Iron Man Pjs that were once Ryan’s and are now cut offs. Finishing strong Elise. Finishing strong!

On to the arrival of more adventures. Welcome back “Summer Max, Summer Ryan and Summer Elise!” Now if only spouses of teachers also got snow days and summers off!

Hope everyone had a great close to the year too.