This past week, Asher went through what we hope is the first of many graduation ceremonies, this one at Hunter Woods Cooperative Preschool. There was the appropriate pomp and circumstance, as each of the kids got their little certificates and told their wonderful teacher what they wanted to be when they grow up. For the record, Asher wants to be a doctor. (Oy! We'll be working till we're 90.)
It was a short ceremony, and to paraphrase a line in one of President's Obama's campaign speeches, you're SUPPOSED to graduate from preschool, but I couldn't help but feel a tinge of emotion. I think it was the sudden realization that this was the end of something. Yes, the kids have plenty to look forward to as they go on to kindergarten and beyond. But they would never be all together in this classroom again.
Same goes for the parents. The funny thing about a co-op preschool, you can't help but get to know the kids and the parents. If it had been a school where you just drop off and pick up the kids, I never would have seen the mix of eclectic personalities. I never would have had interesting conversations (in multiple languages) with the moms and dads. And I probably wouldn't be arranging play dates.
So it wasn't till that moment, when everyone had their certificates in hand and the teacher said her final remarks, that I fully understood what the school's matriarch meant when she told me once that the end of preschool is probably harder on the parents.
And that's a great credit to her and her staff. It was a fascinating two years, a time filled with countless memories that will last a lifetime. We are forever grateful.
On a side note, I also was part of the ceremony. Mercifully, I didn't completely mortify Asher. (Sorry for the odd angle; that's how it downloaded.)
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