That's all, folks

Well, here it is. The last day of school is tomorrow. As opposed to the night I sat here to write my first Baxtergarten entry, when the backpack was packed and lunch was made, new clothes were laid out, and we weren't sure how we would ever get Baxter out the door in time for school, tonight is a totally different scene. Here I am, in the same chair at the same desk, watching the N-Judah make its way by, but this time there is still a little streak of orange in the night sky out there over the ocean. That crisp fall anticipation is long gone, and in its place is a sense of endings and long hot days ahead in another city.

The backpack is still hanging on the same door knob, but it's empty. I have not made the lunch yet, although I did get his request for a "last day" lunch. The house is a mess; we are preparing to move and Matt's on a business trip, so I'm far behind schedule tonight.

What I can get credit for this evening are the bright green cards with new home and email addresses printed out for Baxter to give to all of his friends tomorrow. I made them on the computer and carefully glued them to the cards so that the kids wouldn't lose them immediately. He so dearly hopes to get an email from his new love, Olivia.

I will be going in to school at snack time with cupcakes and these little cards for everyone. This will be Baxter's "good-bye" party at school, and he is very excited about it.

Their student teacher will be there tomorrow; his classroom teacher celebrated her last day with the kids today since she has a son graduating during the day tomorrow. When I tried to say good-bye and to thank her for all that she has done for Baxter this year, I only ended up crying. Thanfully, I had also said it all in the card I wrote for her last night.

It's a pretty amazing journey, this kindergarten thing. I do imagine most years of school will seem like that in one way or another but I am guessing that, this being his very first year of school, it made us pay that much more attention to each little step of the adventure.

Thanks to those of you who have been reading this from time to time, and who noticed when weeks went by between entries. Your encouragement helped when things were slow. There was never a lack of material, of course, it was simply that at times we were moving too fast to think about what was happening and how we were feeling about it. I can say with certainty that everything important I learned about life I did NOT learn in kindergarten. However, it is a very exciting and important year, even when experienced through one's child. Thanks for coming along on the ride.

We won't be chronicling next year in this way. However, you can track our progress in Chicago, which I'm sure will include thoughts on the new school, at: http://showmeanothercity.blogspot.com.