Your Parents are Growing Up With You

Happy Wednesday Everyone, 

First, let me say, I broke my streak...😢...and it didn't take long.  I failed to post yesterday.  I had the blog page open, I even clicked on "new post," but then I never wrote anything.  And it's all because you are all growing up too darn fast!  That's good...but hard for us adults all at the same time.  Let me explain...

This time of year in my office I am very focused on transition efforts.  Thinking about transitioning 8th graders to the high school, welcoming 4th graders to CBMS, and helping our 6th graders move upstairs.  I also start to see, in very real-time, how much you've all grown this year.  Our 5th graders no longer look so little and seem capable of becoming the downstairs leaders.  Our current 6th graders totally look ready to wander the upstairs hallways, and our 8th graders seem ripe for more responsibility and a move to new adventures.  I am sure that the 4th graders in our district look ready to fly their nest at TBPS as well (pun intended).  

(I know this because I have a 4th-grader at home, and all he's talked about since February is how cool his middle school is going to be and about how excited he is to meet kids from some of the other small towns around us that will also go to his middle school.  He no longer looks like an elementary school kid!)  

Anyway, all these imminent transitions keep me super busy, and it was impossible to find the time to squeeze in a blog post yesterday.  Even my after-school hours were packed!  I went from work to a great session of Girls on the Run, to Chef Extroidanare at home, making some quick but super yummy egg and cheese sandwiches for dinner, and then it was off to the park for the first night of Little League practice!  No time to catch up and get that blog post written.

Transitions remind me that you are all growing up!  And by you all, I mean you, my "kids" at school, and my kids at home as well.  It reminds me that while it is all fun and exciting, it is also hard for us teachers and parents to watch you grow sometimes because we feel wistful for the time that has gone by...  

Yesterday I coached at Girls on the Run with a former student who is on the cusp of getting their license. (Happens so fast!)

Today I dropped my own kid off at school with an afterschool plan to walk to the park with his peers for the first time ever. (OMG!)

I've been having discussions with 8th-graders about whether or not they envision themselves going to college in four years. (What!!!)  

My oldest nephew, just committed to going to the University of Rhode Island next year!  (Wow!) 

And I had a conversation with my sister-in-law about navigating her 5t- grader through a conversation about crushes!  (Oh. My. Heart!)  

We feel wistful for the passage of time, we feel excited for you, we feel pride in who you are and in what you might be someday.  We feel hopeful that you will make good decisions - be good people - but we also know that life is sometimes about making bad ones and learning from them.  Do remember that as you grow, so too are we as your parents, caregivers, and teachers, growing.  We like to think that we have all the right answers, and we try to always guide you in the best directions, but it's hard and bittersweet, and surprising to watch you grow.  So please be gentle with us as you evolve each year, take on new challenges, and experience new things.  Sometimes we wish time would move just a little more slowly, but alas, it keeps ticking, and you along with it. 

Want a quick peek at the pride we feel as parents, guardians, and teachers when you all show us how amazing you can be?  Check this out...

I don't know...maybe they are lip-syncing, and maybe some of the reactions are staged, but I know that this is how I feel when I see amazingness from students and from my own kids - and there are lots of ways to show your chops, so go be you, Cougars  - share your amazing with the world!  Make us proud as we grow with you!

Have a great day!

Mrs. Hempey