ch-ch-ch-changes

change. that is a word that i have never really liked. i have been through a lot of it in my life. especially in the past 6 or 7 years. but change when you are somewhat in control of it, is more bearable. change that is out of your control or just one of the seasons of life is different. it stirs up all kinds of emotions. and this spring has done just that. as of today, i have been through 2 "transition days" with both children. em is transitioning to the middle school and wil is transitioning to the....upper school? i can hardly type that.

em's transition day was exciting. she had lots to say that morning and that afternoon. pb dropped her off at the middle school on a friday morning, along with all of the other apprehensive 4th grade parents. she spent the day there and returned back to the lower school before dismissal. i started teaching art at the lower school when she started preK. so essentially, our lower school experience has been hand in hand. that friday, i distracted myself with the thought that the 4th grade was "just on a field trip". but their absence on campus and at lunch, was too real to play off as just another field trip. they are moving up and i have to be honest, i am really sad. i have grown with this class. they were my babies when i started teaching them. i pushed them and could get them to do anything artistically. they are a phenomenal group of kids. so yes, it is hard to let them transition to the middle school. i can only imagine what they are going to accomplish over the next few years. selfishly, i want to transition with them.

wil's transition day was today. he had very little to say about it this morning. he was excited about the 9th grader that was his buddy for the day, but that was about all that we got out of him. i could not attend the luncheon that parents were invited to, so pb represented both of us. the report was that wil seemed to be having fun but stayed with his friends. parents were at a separate table. the students prefer it that way at this age. another change that is hard to swallow. out of my control. pb said that he is nervous for wil. it is going to be a different world for him. transitioning from the lower to middle school was no problem. he loved every minute of middle school. as i have said, the life of wil has been good. i'm sure upper school will be just as great but it is going to be different. this seems like the final step out of the cocoon that lower and middle school provided. at his lax banquet on sunday, coach hight called all of the 8th grade players up for recognition. when the mass of boys filed up to the front of the room, i had to look away. i remember when these boys had paint on their faces at the thanksgiving feast in preK, when they were dressed as turkeys in 1st grade, when they had their 3rd grade stores, when we walked to the marine armory for toys for tots, the pumpkin patch, their trip to the capitol, and when they goofed off and thought they were so big at the end of the year party before leaving for middle school. and now.

transition. change. words i really do not love. but part of the seasons of life. it is bittersweet.