The Pencil Box

It seems like only yesterday when I wrote about the first day of kindergarten and here it is the last. Alex had his kindergarten graduation today and although it was very informal it was a very big deal. I remember his first day of kindergarten and getting ready for it. Packing his pencil box just right and making sure his name was on everything. We loaded his backpack up so full he could hardly carry it without tipping over. He was nervous and anxious all at once. He was ready. Funny but I don't remember my last day of kindergarten or my first, in fact there are only maybe 2 days of kindergarten that I can remember bits and pieces of so I don't know if Alex will remember his either, except for the medals he earned. One medal was for courage because you have to be brave in kindergarten. Its the first time you are alone and away from your security blanket known as mom or dad. The second medal was for curiosity because once you overcome that shy feeling you get very curious and ask alot of questions about everything. The third medal is for humor because every little thing can be so silly in kindergarten and the fourth medal is for independence because as you go through kindergarten you learn to be a little more independent each day. As the awards came to a close Mrs. BL announced to the kids that they were now 1st graders and a huge cheer went up. It was at that moment that the lump in my throat traveled to my heart and opened the flood gates of pride and joy. The tears were being held back as best they could and it is only now that they are allowed to flow freely. I opened his pencil box to see what was left of kindergarten and I found just what should be...broken crayons with little to no paper wrapping left, pencils worn down and some shaved on both ends, used and scuffed up erasers, 3 markers that were dry and 2 that were not even the same brand as what he started with, and of course absolutely no glue stick to be seen despite the efforts to replace what had been used over the months. I pictured his little hands using each piece to create the letters we have practiced so much, I visioned him tapping his pencil on the table like he does at home and then I noticed there were a few who did have bite marks. I want to save everything in that pencil box forever, even if it is no good anymore because it is something very important to me. The only thing holding me back from putting it in my personal treasure box is the fact that I get to go through this two more times and by the time that happens, I probably won't remember who's pencil is who's. Then again, I am a mom who does save just about everything and I do still have some pencils from when Michael was in grade school but I couldn't tell you exactly what grade they were from. Alex wants to give one of his medals to Michael, I don't think he got any for completing Junior year. Congratulations Alex you made it through Kindergarten!! thanks for reading xoxo