First, we got ready for school and fortunately somehow not in a rush at the end to get there on time. (I think the difference was that Libby actually ate her breakfast in a reasonable amount of time - not always the case!) I was excited to see her last day of school arrive, though figured it could perhaps take a bit of a toll on my emotions. But I had a plan to maximize my last bit of "get things accomplished on my own" time before the summer arrived.
So, before school, we did the usual photo-op, even if it did last slightly longer than the usual two quick snaps on the blackberry camera to text to Daddy. I mean, it was the last day of school, right? So the real camera came out.
Last Day of School, May 17, 2013:
And, just to compare and remember, First Day of School photo from Aug. 21, 2012:
I got to grab a quick photo of Libby with Mrs. Lisa before school started:
So, I ran my errands and even set aside time to eat a bit and read quietly to myself, in complete peace. Of course, there were a few work issues to tend to throughout the morning, but overall it was just as I'd hoped. I even arrived a few minutes early to pick Libby up from school.
However, when I arrived outside her classroom and saw her little backpack lined up outside the door with the others, it was all wrote. I burst in to tears. My baby girl just finished her first year of school!
I gathered my wits as best I could before venturing through the classroom to the playground where the kids were outside playing, none the wiser really that they wouldn't be coming back next week, or the week after that, or for months, to see their teachers and friends. None the wiser that next year would be a brand new adventure, if in a familiar place. Not aware of how much they'd really grown this year. And it looked as though most of the moms had it together better than I. Maybe it's just because they're not pregnant? Anyway. I was still a little teary outside when Libby came to greet me and Mrs. Lisa told her my note to her (I dropped off little thank you notes and gifts for Libby's teachers as I dropped her off that morning) had made her cry. So we hugged it out. Libby looked somewhat concerned and remained so as I snapped her photo with sweet Mrs. Lori.
And she was ready to go! I had to tell her to go say good bye to a few of her friends - she mainly just tracked down Madeleine. Literally chased after her, which was just adorable. And it looks like we're going to get some of the kids together on Tuesday for a playdate at the park. I do hope we can keep them going over the summer!
She got her little treat in the car, but I reminded her that obviously she wouldn't get her big end-of-year treat until after dinner that night when we could share the fun with Daddy. Oh- she also got a few little gifties at home: a couple of fun, erasable workbooks/maze books to enjoy over the summer. So they may also help her with writing her letters... Anyway, She also came home with a load of crafts from the year and gifts from her teachers - including a CD of the music Mrs. Lisa played in class regularly! We also got her growth page from the first day of school until the second-to-last. Big changes! She went from 35 inches tall to 36.5 inches (and she's still smaller than most of her class) and 26 to 28 pounds. (She really is getting a bit heavy for me to carry.)
And of course, after a yummy dinner outside at home, we ran out to enjoy the long-awaited frozen yogurt! Libby got exactly what she'd planned, "yogrit with 'fruit bites.'" Translated she actually chose the honey graham fro-yo topped with a dusting of graham cracker crumbs and gummy bears. Unique, and she loved it.
What a day for my big girl!
And then I couldn't update the blog quite yet, because after we got her in bed, we settled in to watch our other emotional journey for the night: the retrospective and season finale of "The Office." I usually blog during TV shows, but NOT this one. Not this week.
Michael and I have been watching the show since episode #1 - before it became popular. My parents said we were Jim and Pam from soon after they started watching it. We identified characters in our own work places. We grew up in our jobs just as the characters on the show did. If we "grew up" with "Full House" and "Saved by the Bell," we... became adults? with "The Office." We never even gave up during the lean years (post-Michael Scott.) And our loyalty, was, I think, rewarded. Michael Scott even returned for the finale. Actually, a former coworker of mine wrote a great post about "The Office" and the finale, that you can read here. I agree with it all (except the "Seinfeld" and "Friends" things.)
Yes, I got teary-eyed a few times. In keeping with the rest of the day, it was a roller coaster. Happy tears. Bittersweet tears.
Jim's last line: "Everything I have, I owe to this job... this stupid, wonderful, boring, amazing job." I loved it.
Pam's: "There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point?"
Andy's last line has one I've grown to know already: "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." I've known I was already "in the good old days" several times in my current job. I feel like I knew I was "in the good old days" at the end of high school and in college. I know I'm "in the good old days" with my sweet family now.
Well, Pam and Andy nailed it for me this summer. It's the last summer that it will just be Libby and me. And frankly, it could be my last summer really sharing it with just one kid. By the time it might just be Maebe and me, Maebe will likely have his/her own thing going on. Her/her own activities, friends, camps, jobs - who knows? So I vow to worry less about the little things in the day. I vow to play more and check my Blackberry less. Yes, I'll have to get certain things done. Yes, I'll have to do work work for my job. But I want to enjoy the good old days with my little family before I figure out how to enjoy the good old days with my bigger family.
This weekend was truly a great start.
No comments:
Post a Comment