Tuesday, June 17, 2014

GRADUATION

Today is my son’s last day in elementary school. G graduates – with a formal ceremony and all -  from sixth grade this evening. He has grown more in the last year at his new school than I ever could have expected.

His confidence has soared in this diverse environment where he is no longer the “different” kid.

He can hit a wiffle ball. With a bat!

Yesterday, no less than “seven girls” deemed him "good boyfriend material."

Who is this self-proclaimed "popular kid" with sportsability (okay, let's not go too far, but he might not be the last person picked -- and that's not nothing!) and a modicum of social ease (in certain contexts)?

For one thing, he's the once-doting son who now answers my every utterance with a groan of "mo-o-om" -- before I even finish:

"Clean your --"

"Mo-o-om…"

"Finish the--"

"Mo-o-om!"

"Want some--"

"Mo-o-om…"

"Well, I was gonna say, ‘Want some cookies…’"

"[Grunt]."

The distance between the earnest, affectionate “Mama” of the always-cherubic child (am I blacking something out? Nah…) and the grunts and moans of the sullen tween is – infinite.

Yet he's still the guy who thinks he wants to stay up a little later “because I’m a big kid now,” and who falls asleep with his nose in a book, and, then, sleepily opens his arms wide for a snuggle when I come to tuck him in…

He’s still a guy with a lot of challenges ahead of him in middle school and life, but he feels really good about right now. Who wouldn’t, with “about twenty friends”????

Graduation. How did this go so fast? It’s certainly not a new or original story, but, like any rite of passage, it feels big to those of us involved. We’ve got his tie tied and his shirt pressed and hanging in his closet at the ready. In ways I could not have imagined a year ago, G himself is ready.

But I am not.

Stand with me, my friends, even those readers I’ve yet to meet. I’ll be the one bawling while my horrified son tries to avoid me in the school gym tonight.

Love,
Full Spectrum Mama



6 comments:

  1. beautiful post! oh the complexity and imperfect beauty of it all. i too shall unabashedly embarrass my child.

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    1. Yay! We will do it together, rendering the imperfect beauty even more imperfect with our soggy, red faces, inelegant snorts and pathetic, sure-to-fail attempts at dignity. Solidarity!

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  2. HUGS!! You did it! :) Here, my 12-year-old sorta blends in. But we are now dealing with the "I can kick your * in chess" prank phone calls at 10:30 at night. Must be some loser who doesn't know how to play the game and is upset that my kid is a little weird maybe. We get a lot of passive-aggressive "friends." It's not clear either way what most of them are. :/

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    1. Thanks, Happy!
      As G navigates the world of friends and "friends," I've noticed the ones who can almost "pass " as "normal" can be the cruelest as they try to fit in (at this age...). So a chess nerd could be a pretty vicious one.
      Love,
      Mama Nerd

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  3. As the Momma of a kiddo just graduating Pre-K, you've given me a glimpse into a future for where I hope my son will be by the time he says goodbye to elementary school. I cannot imagine his kindergarten year, much less the teenage years, but I hope when the time comes you'll be able to stand by me while I bawl my eyes out, as I stand by you today!

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    1. Dear Jessica,
      Thanks for your sweet comment. I'll probably still be bawling? But I will be there!!!! Keep in touch.
      Love,
      FSM

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