And That's A Wrap

"The two most joyous times of the year are Christmas morning and the end of school." -Alice Cooper

May is the month where everything wraps up. We wrapped up Jonah's soccer season with an 8:00 a.m. game in the freezing cold torrential rain. Really? My favorite thing about this picture is not the wet little boy but his wet dad. Poor Neil always comes to these games with the intention of sitting back and watching, and always gets roped into reffing. Nobody hates the cold more than Neil, and yet there he stands in the cold and the wet with his boy. Neil's never been much of a spectator dad.

The end of a virtually undefeated season. Good job guys! And good job Dad.

Look at those rosy cheeks. You wouldn't think this was the middle of May. Hot chocolate and a Madbrook's donut were in order after this.

Spencer sung in his last choir concert. He made a switch from orchestra to choir this year. This made me a little sad, but Spencer's interests are shifting. Sometimes it's difficult to recognize and support those shifts. His choir teacher recognized that he has talent immediately and encouraged him to try out for the show choir for next year, which he did. And he made it! At this age, our kids usually know where their interests and talents lie. It's up to us parents to validate our kids and enable them in their pursuits. So now I get to add choir mom to my mothering repertoire. I'm excited to watch Spence next year.

Spence also received a special award for being a good citizen within the school. These kids are selected by their teachers for this award because they show kindness to those classmates and adults around them. They also show leadership skills and an ability to look beyond themselves to help others. 

Spencer has awesome grades, but this award meant more to me than a 4.0. To know that my child treats those around him with kindness and respect pleases me beyond words. And Spencer does. He always has.

Later that week, I went to the school art show to see some of Spencer's work on display. This piece was featured in the district art show.

He whipped this one up in a couple of afternoons. Do your kids ever shock you with some new hidden talent? Mine do all the time.

The final wrap up for this school year was Sabrina's orchestra concert. She too had considered dropping orchestra this year, but has decided to continue, which makes me very happy. She plays the violin so beautifully. I want her to keep playing.

It's fun to have parents at these events, but when the grandparents show up, that's when the kids start beaming. 

We aren't done done. Jonah just went back to school after being off track for three weeks. That he should have to go back on the first day of summer vacation for his siblings seems horribly unjust. But we'll get through this, and then we will officially be able to say, "And that's a wrap."