little graduate
As ridiculous as it seems to Mike (and others), Annie graduated from pre-school on Friday night. Her school has an event in the church where each class accepts “diplomas” for completing the year. Since Annie’s class was the official “graduating” class, they had caps with tassels. Even Mike had to admit that they were cute. Leading up to the passing out of diplomas there were musical numbers and such.
At the end of the ceremony the group of kids returned to the front for yet another song, and one of Annie’s classmates, a cherubic, African-American boy became quite emotional with tears and saying he didn’t want it to end. I couldn’t help but get teared up myself and think the same thing for Annie and for us. We’ll be moving on in less than two weeks and will leave behind several good friends that may or may not ever see us again. It’s the one drawback to military life.
The next day a friend from Annie’s class threw a party for the grads. A bouncy house was part of the festivities. However, the rain made it nearly impossible to enjoy the outdoor activities. Luckily, Annie got a few minutes in the large, inflatable building not without getting soaked to the bone though. The hosts of the party had quite a spread of refreshments, so most of the time was spent wolfing down food. Of course, there was a graduation-themed cake. They even had a large graduation cap pinata.
We had to leave a bit early because we had another graduation party to attend. This time it was a celebration for Mike’s upcoming graduation. I’ll give more details on that later once I get some pictures uploaded from the event.
June 2nd, 20082:42 pm at
How cute! Ridiculous as graduation from pre-school (or pretty much anything) is, it’s still a pretty good reason to throw a party, sing songs, and wear funny hats. We get to do the same thing in a few days, and I’m looking forward to the utterly meaningless tradition of my little girl walking up on a stage and getting a piece of paper while wearing something she would never touch any other day of the year. (no, I’m not making fun of either view–graduation is silly or graduation is a emotional rite of passage). To me, graduation is a marker of the passing of time, something that fascinates and bewilders me. As time wears on, you have to take time to stop and look back while eating cake–otherwise life is boring.
Congratulations to Annie! It’s all (not just preschool) about learning to use the scissors properly, learning how to communicate so others understand you, and playing well with others. And I’m sure she did mighty fine!
June 3rd, 200811:54 pm at
congrats to the new grads
In all seriousness (I can’t even take highschool graduations seriously so I might be in Mike’s shoes) congrats to mike for finishing residency. I know somewhat of what it takes and what one has to go through to finish a residency. Congrats to the whole family for supporting him because I know it takes a whopping sacrifice and marathon dedication from everyone to get through. I get excited and am a little awestruck to see my friends reach for the sky and work their butts off and then taste the sweet taste of the finish line. When so many find the easy way, or the dishonest way, or just walk behind the gravy train eating the fruits of the worker, I feel much better to know and even call “friend” those who forge ahead, work hard, sacrifice and take advantage of the opportunity of the “American Dream”! Congrats once again and enjoy the sweet taste of completion.
June 4th, 200812:21 pm at
SP-
I agree, any reason to party is fine with me especially if cake is involved. Mike vowed that he would not be attending anymore graduations for our children until the end of high school. I seriously doubt if another “graduation” comes up between now and then that he’ll flat out not go. How could he do that to my cute, adorable, sweet, little girls.
You really do have a true graduate on your hands. How exciting for Katie!
Sherdon-
Thanks for your comments. Yes, Mike has accomplished a lot and has worked very hard to get to this point. Many sacrifices were made by all our family members. Mike made a beautiful speech about me at his graduation party that apparently had quite an effect on one of the other wives. She said she was brought to tears, and her husband said he took notes so he could say the same thing next year (LOL). Am I a bad wife for not tearing up?!?
You definitely know what it has been like these past couple of years. In fact, you did it doubly long, huh? I’m sure you are enjoying life much more now. I can’t wait to start that life again.
June 5th, 20081:30 am at
Congrats to Annie!! Very cute stuff. It is fun to take pictures and stuff like that. Rozzie had her 6th grade “promotion” ceremony. That is what they call it. I think it is an adequate name. But get this: the senior’s graduation took 54 minutes. Rozzie’s “promotion” went on for TWO hours!! I think there is something wrong there!! They are such cute girls, though. How fun. It is just great to listen to them sing and do their stuff!!