Friday, May 24, 2013

The End of an Era

Today marked the end of an era in the life of the Phillips Family. Sadie finished Kindergarten and Sawyer finished Pre-K. Sigh...
It was H-A-R-D on my heart. Its funny because I remember just a short 9 months ago, I cried for weeks leading up to Kindergarten. I was so sad to see my baby girl heading off to school. It was so, so hard, and I even admit that I cried for several weeks AFTER she started because I missed her so much! So, needless to say, I have been a little emotional about school all together. Well, never did I think that I would also be crying once school was coming to an end! It has been a wonderful, wonderful year. I cannot say enough good things about Goodpasture as a whole and especially the Little Red School House. Oh, the sweet bubble of the Little Red School House. If I could keep my kids inside of that sweet bubble forever, you better bet I would do it! The teachers have been beyond amazing and the 2 helpers have captured the hearts of my whole family. I spent so much time in that Little Red Schoolhouse over this past year and I have loved every single minute of it. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have grown VERY close to many of the children in the Kindergarten class and I have gained MANY new friends in a lot of the parents. It's just not what I expected at all! I never thought that I would grow THIS attached to all of these people. But, oh, what a blessing it has been! It has been worth EVERY single sacrifice that we have had to make in order to keep them there. I have said many times that Sadie walked into that place a very shy, reserved little girl, and she is leaving there as a confident young lady.
Anyways, Sadie's graduation was absolutely adorable. These kids did an amazing job and I was so impressed! They were all so cute!!!! They all chose a profession that they want to be when they grow up. Sadie chose to be a cheerleader. Below are several pics from the night. Mostly of her and her buddies and a few from the actual graduation program, etc.

I was so proud of Sadie! She did a great job, said her lines right, and had a blast doing it!
The next day this week, I headed back up to school to celebrate Sawyer's "summer" bday with his class. I thought it was kind of silly to be celebrating his birthday 2 months early, but he felt so special, so it made it all worth it!

We then headed down to Sadie's class to have their end of the year family picnic. It was a special time. Mrs. Lankford handed out all of the Memory Books and said some sweet things to all of us.
This brings us to yesterday...the last FULL day of school. I spent most of the day in tears. Everything was making me cry! It wasn't as much of a sad cry as it was a "I'm not ready for this year to end" cry. I am DEFINITELY ready for Summer! But, I am definitely NOT ready to say goodbye to these kids and parents and teachers. Yes, I am fortunate enough to get to be back at the Little Red School House with Sawyer next year, BUT, I know it will never be the same. This was a very special group of kids and parents!!! I can't really put it into words, but I was just so emotional knowing that it was over. And, this all meant that Sadie would be heading up to the "big" school; no longer in the sweet bubble. :( AND, on top of all of this, my little buddy is starting Kindergarten next year! UGH! Too. Much. Growing. Up. Last night as I was putting Sadie to bed, she always lets me pick a book to read to her. Last night I picked "Guess How Much I Love You". Probably not the smartest choice of book considering the emotional day I had had. But, it was so precious to read those words to her that I have read over and over for the past 6 years of her life.
When I got up this morning, I felt good. Sadie seemed happy to go for her last half day. Sawyer was fired up that Preschool all together was coming to an end and I was feeling excited to start Summer! I went up to school a little early and got Sawyer out. His friends in his class all came over and gave him a BIG group hug and it made him feel so good!!!!
We then walked down to the Little Red School House to get Sadie and say our good bye's. When I opened the door, there were already a roomful of tears! Oh no! Moms were crying, kids were crying, teachers were crying! HELP! We said our sad goodbye's to everyone and headed to the car. Sadie was VERY quiet. I put them in the car and walked over to her side of the car to check on her. I leaned in to hug her and the tears started flowing. Broke. My. Heart!!!!!!! So, of course, what did I do? Yep, I started crying too, which I think kind of made her laugh. LOL I walked back over to Mrs. Lankford to say goodbye to a few others and she cried when I told her that Sadie was upset. It was almost a comical situation that everyone was crying like we were at a funeral! It just goes to show what a special year it has truly been. I will never, ever forget this year!!!!

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