Teacher Gift and First Lasts

It's another first today. The first last day of school, and of course because parents are weird, I'm met with such mixed emotions. I cried on the first day and now I'm all weepy on the last. Kindergarten was such a roller coaster ride that I've been eager for the start of summer, but a little sad now that it's finally going so well - it's over.

I've been extremely protective of Rosemary's last week of school ... to the point of choosing not to see some dear family friends who I haven't seen in way too long. The thing is that the beginning of the year was so rocky; and the fact that it took about 7 months for Rosemary to stop being so extremely stressed out about school was draining on me as well as her. This child used to spend most of her time conspiring to get out of school, whining on the drive to school, and so on and so forth. In the last month, she has started looking forward to school, telling me all these great stories, and she's even been announcing that "I like school now," as we drive down in the mornings.

The relief I feel about all of this is so great, and I just didn't want to risk mixing up these positive emotions with exhaustion. I think the transition out of school may be just as big as the transition into it. And knowing the way my child worries (and the way I worry about her worries), I wanted to do all I could to help keep her final memories positive. I could see her dreading first grade all summer if something was tough about the last day of kindergarten.

So far, it's been a great week. Rosemary and I spent some time reminiscing as we made her teacher's farewell gift. As I look back on the year, I have realized that Rosemary really got the best teacher we could have asked for. She's so easy going, and I think that's exactly what we all needed.

I was planning to do the same old flowers in a pot with a "thanks for helping me grow" sign (which is a good gift, I'm sure, but I was a little tired of it), when Pinterest came along and directed me toward a crayon monogram. It looked fairly simple ... and it was.

After leaving Rosemary at school this morning, I realized today is a very good day to start a family tradition. "On the last day of school, we do ____________." I actually did a google search on last day of school traditions, but didn't come up with much other than going to McDonalds. I don't really want that to be our tradition, so I'm thinking maybe a picnic and then a trip out for ice cream?

If any of you lovely readers have last day of school traditions, I would love to hear about them!