End of an era

It is the end of an era.
I no longer have kids in kindergarten.
Yes, Parker graduated and is heading on to the wide-open world of first grade. As I sat in the church sanctuary beaming with pride, I looked over at my wife, who apparently had just watched “Schindler’s List” or something, as she was just a boo-hooing.
Not that she was alone. Having attended quite a few graduation ceremonies over the years, I have seen plenty of moms get weepy when the moment comes. And it’s a chain reaction-type thing.
One mom starts to get a glisten in the eye. Another sees it and gets a little more teary. And then the tear dominoes begin tumbling, and before you know it, it’s the sobbingest place this side of an onion cutting competition. (Yes, I did just manufacture an onion cutting competition. But I think you can agree it would (a) bring lots of tears and (b) be kinda fun to watch from a distance.)
In fairness to them, I did feel a little (OK, a lot) of sentimental rumblings inside when I saw Parker walk up on stage at his graduation. He’s our little guy, and to see how much he has grown – physically and emotionally – this year is amazing.
He has developed a love of reading and math – and schoolwork in general – but has kept that sense of wonder I wish we all could keep forever.
As he heads to first grade, I thought I would reflect on a few things looking back and forward:
— I may never have to make a school lunch again. Parker will eat anything – anything – and he is pretty sure that getting to go through lunch line will be only the coolest thing ever.
— He will be at school with his sister, who will be in fourth grade. I have told her that there is one thing an older sister has to keep in mind – you can’t do that to her brother. Only she can do that to her brother.
— I will miss the drop-ins. During kindergarten, it’s easy for parents to just drop in and see the class. Not so much once you get into elementary school. Well, I suppose you COULD just drop in, but I think the stigma of having your dad be the root-cause of a school lockdown would be a heavy burden for a kid.
— The Dude is going to have to vastly change his sleeping habits. He has always gone to bed pretty well. But starting next fall he is going to have to get up WAAAAAAY earlier than he is used to. And I have seen him when he wakes up early. He’s an angry little critter when you force him up early. In fairness, he’s just not ready to face the day without 8-10 cups of coffee.
— This is the time where the Keep-It Box deposits get fewer and fewer. The Keep-It Box is a big plastic bin we keep under our bed. Whenever the kids have something we want to hold onto (drawings, tests, the late Bubbles the fish), we put it in that box. Kindergarten is really the peak of take-home stuff that will make you wispy for the good ol’ days in about 10 years when you are arguing with him over why he cannot go on a 12-day road-trip with his friends to Argentina, and how his friends’ parents clearly love and trust them more.
— He’s about to head full-on into the big time, with bigger classes and a wide diversity of folks he will interact with each day. And that’s the best thing possible. The world he’s heading into? A big place with a wide diversity of folks. Same can get boring.
— This will probably be the year he starts into sports. We have offered him the opportunity several times. The closest he got was a few practices of basketball. He said he would rather hunt bugs. Maybe he’ll play this year, maybe not. There are only two rules going forward: (a) If you commit to doing it, see it all the way through and (b) dinner’s for winners. Oh, wait, scratch (b). I believe that’s supposed to be “Have fun.”
So we’ve a big year ahead of us. Of course, before he does any of the first grade stuff, it’s summertime. Let’s not worry about all that other stuff yet. Let’s go hunt some bugs.