Celebrating a Milestone and Preparing for an Adventure

Last night the Sprog graduated from middle school.  Now before you start rolling your eyes, I agree, the idea of 8th grade graduation is pretty silly.  Academically it's not much of a milestone nor even a big transition point.  However, in Sprog's case it marks the end of 10 years at the same school and so for that reason, it's a big deal for us.  Each kid got up and gave a presentation (speech, song, video, etc) and Sprog did us truly proud.  There were tears and kvelling.  All in all it was really rather bittersweet. All three of us are excited for high school next year but it does mean leaving the school that has been his home since he was four years old, the school where he learned to read and count, where he made close friends and even had his heart broken for the first time.

Giving his presentation. He told me before graduation that his goal was to make me cry.  He succeeded.  Sniffle! 

The Sprog expresses himself best in verse rather than pros.  Here's what he wrote.

 

People are asking me

what did you learn?

math?

science?

how to write an essay?

This is the easy answer

But

The easiest answer is not

always the best one

So...

I have learned

how 

to make yourself heard

when no one wants to listen

I have learned

That backing down,

is not

the end of the world

I have learned

to love your family

because they do more for you,

than you will ever imagine.

I have learned

that I

am capable

of anything.

These lessons

I share

with you

But...

The most important

lesson of all

is

Never stop learning.

Never stop teaching

Never stop speaking your mind in the unique pattern

that defines you

AS YOU

Receiving his certificate. 

Because this is a style blog (or at least trying to be), here's a close up of Sprog's shirt. 

I originally modified this shirt for his Steampunk bar-mitzvah last fall. It turns out that shirts with French cuffs are hard to find in kid sizes and when you do find them they're unacceptably expensive.  However, plain white shirts are plentiful and cheap at Goodwill. I cut the original cuffs off the shirt and added my own French cuffs. The watch mechanism cuff links were a special request from the Sprog and purchase on Etsy. Instead of a button-down collar it has a screw-down collar.  Those are actually screw head buttons I found quite a while ago while rummaging through a button bowl at an antique mall. 

This morning my attention has turned to preparations for our upcoming cross country adventure. We leave Thursday. This is one of the most complicated trips I've ever packed for.  I'm anticipating weather ranging from 90s and sunny to 60s and potentially rainy with activities ranging from dinners out with friends in Boston and Philidelphia to hiking in Glacier National Park. Oh, and there's a 10 day stretch when we won't have access to laundry facilities.  But we're limited to one small suitcase each so there's a lot of strategy involved. Layers and multi-use pieces seem to be the key.  For example, I have a couple of light weight blouses that can be worn unbuttoned over a sundress, buttoned up with pants, or layered over a long sleeve t.  I laid everything out to make sure it all worked together and did a test pack to make sure it will all fit.  I think I've got it dialed in now.  

I ended up with:

2 dresses

2 pairs of pants

2 skirts

3 t-shirts

1 long sleeve t

2 camisoles

3 blouses

1 scarf/shawl

1 short sleeve cotton sweater

1 fleece 

3 pr shoes (sandals, the red clogs, and a pair I can do light hiking in)

I still need to decide about jewelry and sort out which knitting projects are coming (also known as, "how much yarn can I stuff in the nooks and crannies?")