Looking forward

We've been extra busy over the past week preparing for the end of my 8th grader's school year and her graduation from the school she has been in since Kindergarten.  Last week Marisa attended the evening performance of the 8th grade school play, Cheaper by the Dozen, with us, and she did really well.  There is one scene with a cheer in it and she mimicked that beautifully, and towards the end she started repeating the lines, but all in all, she was a very good audience member and made it through a show that had nothing to do with Veggie Tales! 

Friday night we attended the first of 2 parties for the graduates and their parents.  That was great fun and we are looking forward to the next one.  A dear friend of mine offered to babysit both nights - what a gift!  With no family members in roughly 3000 miles, getting a sitter is often impossible and either my husband or I end up sitting most adult or adult/big kid only events out.  The Moms at the party Friday night were amazed that I even made it.  I'm so glad I did because they are all great people and I will miss the ones who are moving on now that their kids will be gone.  Since we are going to give the school a try for Marisa for 1st grade, I'll still see most of the parents for a few more years, so that made the event less bittersweet. 

Graduation is Tuesday night and even though it's not as big a deal as graduating from high school, the kids are anxious to leave the shelter of the school and school family most of them have been in for 9 years, and go out into the larger world.  Nadia is going to a top rate high school, located in downtown Portland, and we're hoping it will be a challenging but overwhelmingly wonderful experience for her.  I'm excited about the potential to learn "life skills," in riding the city bus and going to school in an urban environment.  We need to remember that the need to acquire life skills, even though the term is jaded in my eyes, is necessary for all our kids, not just the ones needing extra help.

So, this coming week will be another busy one, filled with some sadness, but lots of excitement and hope for the future.