Last Day of School for Seniors

My oldest son is a Senior in High School.  Yesterday was their last day of school.  I greeted him with a sign that said "Happy last day of compulsory K-12 school!" 

We talked at length about his last day of school.  The Seniors had plans to forma Conga Line at 2:15, but when the rumor hit the school administration, the kids were reminded that they could still serve detention on this, their last day of school.  He talked about his teachers, who have worked so hard and pushed him to do more and learn more than he thought possible.

These past two weeks have been a week of lasts:  The last orchestra concert.  The last track and field meet.  The last banquet.  The last... well, you get the idea.  It's been a time of reflecting back on everything that was, and has been.  It's been fun, remembering back to his first day of Kindergarten, laughing over the battles he had with his first grade teacher over the creation of fossils, the second grade teacher who yelled at him about reading ahead of her in the textbook.  We also reminisced about that fabulous Mrs. G. who convinced him that he could do more than he thought he could.  Mrs. M. who taught him Math for three years in elementary school, pushing him 2 levels above grade level by the time he was finished.  For the first time, he was challenged in Math, and thrived beyond all of our expecations.

He has taken as many AP classes as he could for his entire high school career, for a total of 10 AP classes.  He has continued to play his Viola, and he recently ran in his first and only Regional Track Meet.  He didn't qualify for States, but he did set a personal best at that meet.  He was the only distance athlete to do that, and he was very, very content with that result.

But, instead of looking backward at what our kids have come through, I'd like to look forward for a while.  These are kids that we, as a group of parents, have nurtured together over the years.  We've chaperoned them on field trips, had them sleep over in our houses, and gotten after them when we've seen them out and about without their parents and their behavior is... well... not what it should be.  I feel like all of these kids are mine, too!

I got my wish at our final orchestra concert this week.  Our band director, Miss J., read off a list of the Seniors.  Each student was asked to state plans for the future, major, etc.  I loved hearing the list of hopes and dreams.

The last three students were getting ready to approach the microphone, and I was feeling the bittersweet nature of the moment.

The first kid approached the microphone:  "I have earned a free ride through the Coast Guard Academy, where I am going to major in saving lives!"

The second student: "I am going to U**, where I will be majoring in Pre-Med, and Minoring in Awesome!"

The third student:  "I am going to U**, where I will be double majoring in Business Administration and Glory!!"

The past was fun, but I am looking forward to the stories of glory that we'll be hearing in the future.

Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

Just Much Too Soon

A young man in my daughter's 8th grade class has passed away.  He died of Leukemia.  He was 13 years old.  This boy fought off this hideous disease for 18 months.  He missed almost all of his 7th grade year of school, instead spending it in various hospital beds in the area hospitals, fighting for his life.  This time last year, he was declared to be in remission.  When school began in September, he was present in the classrooms.  He was in my daughter's homeroom, and in many of her classes. 

Funny and happy go lucky before his diagnosis, he returned to school with a zest for life.  Happy beyond words to be back in school.  He wasn't allowed to return to playing football, but he attended the games and cheered on his team.  He teased the girls, joked with the boys, and was considered by all a joy to be around.

Then came the day in the middle of October when he did not come to school.  Whispers ran through the school that he was sick again.  The kids asked the teachers what was going on, but the teachers were just as clueless as the students.  By the end of the day, the school received the words that they had been dreading to hear: The cancer was back, and it was very aggresive. 

Tears were shed, but everyone was convinced that he would beat it this time, too.  Packages of cards and letters were delivered from the school once a week, as the kids sent him games, books, and notes about the latest goings on in the classrooms.

Earlier this week, we received word that he lost his valiant battle. 

The reaction among the kids has been difficult to keep track of.  All of them are heartbroken.  All of them are sad beyond words.  Grief has weird ways of manifesting itself.

I know as a parent, I am heartbroken beyond words.  My heart breaks for his parents.  How awful it is to watch your child struggle for life day after day... think he has won the battle, and then lose the battle at the age of 13. 

As the mother of one of his class mates and friends, I am struggling.  We've spent a lot of time talking about what a great kid he was and how many lives he's touched in his 13 years of life.  I believe that his life will have a significant impact on the lives of his friends for the rest of their lives.  But, how do I answer the "Why?"  questions:  Why did he have to die?  Why did he get cancer and nobody else has it?  Can I get cancer and die too? Why didn't the drugs work for him? 

I've done my best to muddle through the answers, finally ending with "Sometimes, life just isn't fair.  Bad things happen, and we don't know why." 

For me, my only answer has been to hug the kids - often and long.  And tell them every chance I get how much I love them.

We love you, Cam.  You will be missed.

This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all! 

Trapped in the Wal-Mart

Seriously, I was trapped in the Wal-Mart for a couple of hours yesterday.  I had just dropped by the church and thought I would run inside to pick up a thank you card for one of the kids' coaches.  That was my big mistake of the day.

Just about the same time I pulled into the parking lot, the back-hoe that was digging in the parking lot of the bank hit a gas main.  The driver of the back hoe hit the ground running, fearful of a gas explosion.  Unfortunately, he forgot to turn the engine of his machine off.  Since the gas main was leaking, no one was allowed close to the back hoe to turn it off.  They had to wait for the fire department, in full protective gear to show. 

The police officers and construction workers onsite were shuffling all of the shoppers out of the lots and into the Wal-Mart (which was deemed to be safer) while they were waiting for the fire department.  Needless to say, traffic came to a screeching halt while ALL of the roads were closed down. 

I was enjoying watching people whiz around the Wal-Mart lot, looking for a way around traffic when I was told I had to go inside of the store where it was "safer".

I'm no genius, but somehow, I don't think that cruising around the Wal-Mart for an unknown period of time, armed with a credit card is a good idea. 

I live in a fairly small town, so I actually had a pretty nice time cruising around the Wal-Mart.  I ran into my daughter's retired 5th grade teacher and her father.  I ran into my aerobics teacher.  I ran into some friends I hadn't seen in a couple of months, and I found a couple of summer employees who are home from college for the summer, that had been in Boy Scouts with my boys.  The Subway did a lot of business as we all bought our breakfast, and pulled the tables into one great big table and had a huge gab-fest.  People would get up and move around the tables periodically as they finished one conversation and began another.  Dates for lunch were set, plans for barbecues were made, and pictures were proudly displayed.  It was probably the best, most productive, and fun two hours I've spent in quite some time!

Eventually, the fire department sounded the all clear, and opened traffic on the main roads again.

I picked up the Thank You card for the coaches and headed out on my way.

I'm not certain, but I think being trapped in the Wal-Mart for two hours, forcing me to slow down and talk with friends old and new was probably the best mistake I have ever made.  I need to make more mistakes like that!