Stanley'SMilestones: School's out, again.

There isn't a single first day of school where I don't have a picture of the boys running for the elementary school bus. Likewise, I have discreetly gotten them running from the bus on the last day of school. Also on the last day of school, I have showed up in their classrooms to say goodbye to teachers and get the boys' photos taken with them and with their friends. It is one of the great aspects of their school, where families are welcome to join in such celebrations. Who doesn't love the last day of school, either?

I recently took a full time job, so this year on the last day of school, it struck me that I wouldn't be going to my 2nd and 4th graders' classes, or hiding behind the tree to snap their picture as they disembark from the school bus. Funny how much more vigilant I was in the beginning and how I probably would have made arrangements ahead of time not to deviate from tradition if I had been working full time then. Sure, I could have arranged for the day off today to be there or sneaked out for lunch to get that bittersweet photo. But I guess I have reached the point where I've perhaps outgrown this tradition as the boys have been growing up. Ironically the oldest of the four will be entering high school in the fall. Where did the years go? We are down to three years remaining with one in elementary school. Surely I blinked more than I thought I did.

As much as they think they will remember the best memories, they will, no doubt, fade with time. But I have in each of their keepsake boxes piles of various art projects, tests, certificates, class pictures, and past report cards. The boys always get a kick out of going through their boxes and marvel at their drawing and handwriting progression through the years, and in seeing their classmates from earlier years. The collection surely has lessened with each grade they've completed, but every item in the box is a piece of his education and has a story. Someday when they've grown, I hope they will appreciate the contents and remember their teachers with a smile, the teachers who had a hand in shaping their education, each walking the path with the boys during a period of time. I wonder how many will still be there during each of their Senior Breakfasts.

So welcome, summer and barefoot days and chasing fire flies nights. So long, school buses, back packs and homework, at least for a while. It's time to close the doors to another school year behind us, until the first day of school sneaks up in August. But I'm not counting, and neither are the boys.