My baby is a graduate

A graduate of kindy that is. It's been a rough week, between not having a bathroom, my van not working and not learning of the kindergarden graduation until Monday night at 8 pm, but tonight went amazingly well.

We started out the evening by everyone taking baths in a storage tub in the kitchen since the boys hadn't had proper baths since last Friday. We couldn't have our graduate walking for his diploma being all grubby!

Then off to an early celebratory dinner at the Top Buffet. I'm so glad our kids love chinese. It's fast, cheap and easy. And it's such a treat for them, especially since they get to serve their own ice cream.

Then onto the school. We dropped him off in his classroom at 5:45 pm and left him to get his "2008" sash on and headed to the gym to take our seats. They handed us a program upon entering the door and we corralled Luke and carried Elizabeth up the bleachers in the gym to find some seats in the center. I perused the program to find out that my son would be in the graduating class of 2020. That just sounds so foreign to me. So far off. But I know it won't be.

They started the graduation march on their little stereo and in march the kids. In pretty much a straight line with a few stragglers, all the kids searching hard for their parents in the huge audience and waving madly when they did. Zachary came out and did the search. And again. And again. Made it to his seat, still looking for us. He knew we were there...we walked him in. I yelled his name. I could read his lips when he said "I HEARD them!" and he finally located us....and jumped up and waved his little arm off.

The principal did the whole speech about thanking all the parents for being such an active part in the kids' lives, blah blah blah.

Then the kids performed a few songs..I like Peanut Butter, the Button Factory and a slew of others. Zachary perfomed so well. Singing and doing all the motions so enthusiatically and really getting into them. And in between times? He sat. No screwing around, just sat and was respectful of those speaking and the situation that he was in. I think he took his graduation very seriously.

There was a really cute, albeit very long, picture slideshow presentation. In which there was a close up shot of Zachary making a funny face. It was just such classic Zachary that it made me smile...through tears. Because the very first song that they used was this one....


This song makes me think of my kids as it is every time I hear it. I have wanted to make a photo montage of them with this song, so to hear it as his graduation song, made me more than a little misty eyed.

As he was standing there at one point, waiting to start singing one of his songs, I saw him as I would an 18 year old. At his high school graduation. It made the breath catch a bit in my lungs to picture him all grown up, a man, ready to face the world. I've had this happen a couple of other times since he started school...and it always hits me like a blow to the chest. A reminder that the days are too short that he will be my little boy. I couldn't help crying. It seems like just yesterday he was Elizabeth's age....learning how to walk, how to talk. No more...he has found his voice for himself.

You can see that for youselves, as he corrects the other kindergarden teacher when she misprounces our name. This video is just so "Zachary".



Congratulations buddy. I love you and am so very, very proud of you.