bittersweet

Bug came home on May 1 with a calendar of end-of-year activities. I immediately saw an error where they'd put the last day of school on May 23 instead of May 29. Bug insisted it was right and somewhere in me there was a ningling feeling that I'd been hearing "three more weeks" not "one more month" as my calendar indicated.  I did some investigation and sure enough, the county CHANGED the last day of school at some point this year. How dare they!?  I lost a week!

Now, two more days of school. For Pook, this means two days of exams. For Bug this means Field Day, cleaning out his desk and playing outdoors a lot (movies in the classroom if it rains). For me, it means cramming in some last To Do's.  For both Bug and myself it means saying Goodbye to his school.

Bug won the lottery (literally) for a placement in our county's Magnet School for High Achievers. Six kids from our school got in this year, which may be a record number.  Once you're in this program, you're in it until you graduate. They house it in a different elementary building for grades 4-6, but the older kids are conveniently housed in the same schools the boys would attend anyway.

I apply each year for Pook to get in, and I will continue to do so until it no longer matters. But I think it matters more for Bug. I've always told people that Pook could learn even if he was under a rock. Sure, teachers are nice to have, but he'd learn anyway.  For Bug, I think we need teachers, and I think we need good teachers. I think he just needs the relationship between himself and an adult to inspire him. With a few exceptions, this has not been a year of inspiration for him.

I was so excited that his name had been drawn that I focused on him and how he'd feel about it. He was initially concerned, but the idea has grown on him. What I didn't think about immediately was that I too would be leaving the school. And I've been there more years than he!

For seven years I've been in that building weekly, helping and visiting and getting to know everyone in every corner. I've participated in lots of projects and done my part for the PTA as one of those stay-at-home-moms who can. Most of my time was spent in the library, where I mindlessly shelved books, stuck tags on book spines, helped add and delete books, rounded up overdues and organized the shelves. It was a relaxing place and I was always needed. There's something meditative about alphabetizing books that rested my brain.

I went up to the school today with gifts for a few teachers. I'd told the media specialist that I'd come in one more time to help her.  She's retiring this year, but trying to get the place in perfect order for her replacement.  She's been special to Bug for the past few years too, so I wanted to be sure I got in a nice Goodbye. He's having an easier time leaving, knowing that she's leaving too. I think she feels the same way about him.  There weren't tears, but it was sad saying goodbye to so many wonderful people. We'll miss it there.