Thursday, May 14, 2009

blinked

Today was the last of the safe years for number 1. It was her last day of 8th grade. In two months, she will be starting high school. I imagine she will hang out with her friends more, be more mobile, be at risk for bigger trouble than, say, playing "ding dong ditch" (or laughing about her friends who actually do play it).

The whole thing just sort of caught me by surprise. The 8th graders took their 2 final exams today and headed down to the church to practice graduation. I went to pick her up and was not expecting to have a misty-eyed moment when I saw them taking pictures of all the kids who'd been there since kindergarten. That was my first brush with the reality of the situation.

She came home with a dvd that the 8th grade teachers put together all this year of their class playing at recess. There was music, slow motion laughing and cutting up, girls being silly, boys doing stunts. Very cute. Then at the end, they are all posed on the jungle gym/playground equipment. The final "scene" is an empty playground with the song "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney playing.

I gasped. Wasn't expecting it. I sobbed. And sobbed.

5 comments:

Maria (also Bia) said...

i cried, too. i've been doing a lot of that lately . . . little one graduated from preschool yesterday . . . 8th graders next week . . . i need to stock up on tissues.

Sheila Joyce Hunt said...

This is your first high school experience and this is my last! I don't know which one is worse! She will be fine. It's you who may need the valium!!!! LOL They don't tell you about this crap in parenting class 101, huh?????!!!

Sandy said...

At Michael's 8th grade graduation they played Boyz 2 Men's, "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" and I just lost it. So I know what you went through. The Kenny Chesney song would have done it too.

Sandy said...

Well I just had to go listen to the Chesney song and now here I am with tears falling down my face. I think about how fast my 35 years with Roy went by and I can't get them back no matter what I do.

Rae*Danae Designs said...

I'm tearing up and I didn't even see the CD! I'm having a hard enough time having a 6th and 7th grader next year.....That K. Chesney song would make me cry for sure!