Kindergarten Graduation 🎉

My heart overflows. I officially have a first grader. The kids AND the teachers have been soo sneaky the past month. I haven’t been allowed near rehearsals nor have they talked about anything related to the graduation ceremony. Even today they kept me distracted so they could practice and plot. Once it was close to time, Ms. A kicked me out of class and told me to “go be a mom!” Lol. 

I was okay until they marched in and Ezra saw us and started waving and jumping. Then all the kids saw me and did the excited wave 👋🏾. Once they started singing it was game over. I was gone. Waterworks started. Mascara was a running. My eyes steadily dripped during the songs about meeting their teachers and eating too many green jelly beans. Some of the kids were crying as they sang which made me cry (can you tell I’m a crier). 

When Ezra did his speaking part I sniffled louder and Ms Debbie can and stood next to me. At some point my mom stood up by me and Zaveah’s mom came and stood by me too. 

Once they started calling the kids I had to wipe my eyes. When they called Ezra he ran up to the principal and gave her a tight hug, then hugged Ms Valentino and then hugged Ms V so tightly I started crying in earnest. He really loves her. I do too. She has worked wonders with my little guy. He didn’t want to let her go. 

I just did a lot of crying today. The kindergarten team got me a card thanking me for helping this year. But is it work if you enjoy what you do? I love coming there and helping them even when I don’t get paid. I love the kids. I love trying to find solutions to problems the kids are having. And when I read the card I got all watery eyed and my student said “Ms Stacie why are you crying are you okay?” 

I’m just having such a blast this year and I’m not ready for it to end. I think packing these classes up and the graduation and all these thank you’d are just driving it home that summer is here. And even though IM NOT READY the next leg of my journey is starting. The next stage of Ezra’s journey is starting. 😭 its all going so quickly and my heart is just so so full. 

Mother’s Day & Teacher’s Appreciation Week!

I used to have all these complicated feelings about Mother’s Day. It made me so sad and frustrated because the person who made me a mother never acknowledged or lived up to his end up to the bargain. But this year it’s different. I had a sense of excitement or maybe a better word is giddiness? I owe it all to my son and his teacher. 

Everyday he’s come home with writing projects about why he loves me. He wrote the most unexpected things down and it just made my heart so incredibly happy. During OT he made me a beautiful beaded necklace which I wore Friday and showed off to ALL my coworkers. All the students noticed it and loved it. When I told them Ezra made it, that just made it so much more cool. 

I found out that my son loves my hugs and he thinks I’m sweet. He loves my cooking too. He thinks I have soft hair and pink eyes. He said that he loves to hug me because I smell like bobos and home. With each paper he brought me my heart just opened a little bit more until it was wide open. I love this kid so much. 

He made me feel so special this year. He painted my nails and gave me a hand massage. We planted a flower together and made bracelets. And we took goofy pictures and then I read him, Braelynn, Braelynn’s mom and Eli a story that made me cry. The Mother’s Day Tea was a success and it made me feel special, not just as an employee but it made me feel SEEN. Appreciated. Like Ezra appreciates all the hard work and things I’ve willingly given up for him. 

Like he’s older now and we have these talks and his big thing is why didn’t someone marry you after you had me. I always tell him “you and me, we are doing just fine and God hasn’t created our person yet. Someone who will stick through the good and the bad and love us for always. Mommy doesn’t NEED to be married but the GOAL is to get married before we have a brother or sister.” And it works but I can tell it bothers him a little. I just keep telling him that we are a unit and we are good. We want for nothing and he’s loved. I make sure of that. 

I digress. This week has just been great, amazing, fantastic, wonderful, superb, orgasmic! It was Teachers Appreciation Week and I was feeling the love all over the place. One of my students made me a wooden owl with earrings, cute lips and colored it nicely. She’s so sweet. The kids have been running up and hugging me randomly. The principal has been giving us little treats which has been cool. I felt kinda awkward taking them because while I have my teaching certificate I don’t consider what I’m doing “teaching”, but she does. I got fussed at for not allowing myself to be appreciated this week and towards the end of the week I tried to let it go. 

I love what I do. I love working with the kids and trying to find solutions to their problems. I love when I can get Andrew refocused and he gets his work done. I love when my son bring a home papers with NEAT handwriting 😭. I love LOVE when Nasir actually does his work and I can say “I’m so proud of you!!” and his little  chest puffs out. I love being their person to love them and get them on track when they get off the rails. Because sometimes all they need is love. 

Graduation is in December and I’m so excited. Ezra’s graduation from kinder is next week and I am both elated for his journey to first grade and sad that he’s growing up so doggone quickly.