The End of an Era

School's out.  At last.  The kindies are moving on, and so am I.  
(I did, however, decide to be a sub for the SPED EAs next year.  The perfect fit?  We'll see.)

There was pomp.  There was circumstance.  There was a brief march through a packed room full of parents, grandparents, and siblings, followed by precious renditions of cheery songs like, Time to Say Good-bye to Kindergarten, and See Ya Later, Alligator.

Then they filed out of that overcrowded, sweltering gym, cameras flashing, as if they were paparazzi magnets.  And where was I?  Trying to be unobtrusive and invisible.  Which was nearly impossible, since I needed to stay close to the kindies in my care.  Yep.  I walked the walk with them.  I'm probably in a darn lot of pictures, and my bet is that my eyes are closed in most of them.

Then parents swarmed into the kindergarten room for a final good-bye video (which almost made me cry.  It's only odd because I shed nary a tear when my own children advanced from that tender stage.  I think it was the realization that my first baby will be 22 this week... and the thought of "oh my, time flies," that caused my emotional reaction.)

Then we all went home.

Ahhhhh.... summer.