LET THE COMMENCEMENTS BEGIN

Today Zane's teachers put together a little ceremony promoting the kindergartners to 1st grade . It was chocked full of certificates and poems about our children. The kids sung songs about saying good bye and warning the parents not to cry.

As each kid quickly jetted up to the stage, they received his or her certificate. Most of the children would stand very still and stiff next to their teacher, They were shy and smiley in front of the the glittery eyed parents and the paparazzi- like camera flashes as they soaked in the praise from their much adored teacher. When it came time for my child to go to the stage I looked on with anticipation for that same look of pride that most other kids displayed. But my kid on his way to the stage suddenly disappeared! "Oh my goodness, where did he go?" I whispered to Scott "He dropped to the floor". He whispered back.
What?
What happened?
Did he trip ?
Is he ok?
Is he embarrassed?
Oh my!
I've got to get closer to him...
and that's when he arose from the floor next to his teacher with a big cheesy grin. Well, come to find out, he did your basic sliding into third base move right there in front of the audience. With all the heads in the way I missed his extra action super slide, but evidently the crowd did not as they erupted with laughter. Smiling larger than life and fully excited and charged by the positive reaction he received, Zane then proceeded to sit down, NOT stand next to his teacher like all the other kids did but, sit down on the edge of the stage in a very casual kind of way with his legs dangling over the side and his arm propping up his slightly reclined body. He faced the audience with the look of "lay it on me Mr. Stonick". His teacher chuckled and said "This is Zane". More laughter dotted the room. I was a bit hesitant, very intrigued and to be frank, scared to death of what he would do next. Throughout the evening Zane provided us with a few more antics on stage which got a few more laughs from the audience and I must admit he had me chuckling too. He did his part in the show as he was instructed, he listened to directions, he was being respectful to his teachers and to his class mates and yet he mixed in some good comedy along with it all. His teachers and other parents seemed pleased and amused by his performance.

It was in that moment while he was up on stage, that I realized just how far this kid has come since day one back in September. You see Zane's overwhelming desire to make people laugh had gotten the best of him many times and he would forego listening to his teacher all for the sake of good laugh at the beginning of the year. His teacher approached me on the first day of school and told me I needed to talk to my son. A parent's nightmare right? It was a rocky start to say the least. But Zane over the year, not only learned how to read, how to add and how to subtract, but he also learned how to thrive and be successful in his classroom all the while never losing his comedic touch nor being forced to to lock up the desire to make people laugh. He learned there is a time and place for it. And I guess tonight was that time and place. I am so extremely grateful for his teacher this year. I am thankful that he never squelched that life and laughter inside Zane, but taught him how control it and use it properly. I am also so proud of Zane for grasping all these new concepts that he was introduced to this year and running full force ahead with them.

What a great first year of school and what a wonderful foundation to build upon for the school years to come! Watch out 1st grade here comes my little Zane!