The End of an Era

On Monday night, my elder "graduated" from 8th grade.

Her middle school has a tradition of a recognition ceremony conducted somewhat like a graduation, in the gymnasium. There are student speakers, a speech by the principal, the choir sings, and each student is called by name and given a certificate of completion, along with any other honors they have earned. At the end, there is a tradition of showing a DVD with photos of all the 8th graders.

It was another cool night (but no rain until later!), which isn't a bad thing for graduations. Certainly it was plenty warm in the gym (also a kind of a graduation tradition). The class, for the most part, dressed up -- Several of the boys were in sport coats, many in ties. The girls all wore dresses, and the overall effect was nice, although some of them looked inappropriate for a night club. And many pairs of high heeled shoes were off the feet by the end. Ours wore character dance shoes, and was perfectly comfortable.

The middle school is named for the first chief of an American Indian tribe, and each year one of his descendents attends and gives a small present to the 8th graders. This year, instead, the school was presented with a framed ceremonial (canoe) paddle in their honor. It will hang in the school in lasting tribute to the class.

After the ceremony, a dance party was held in the Commons -- they entered on a red carpet, with papparazzi snapping their photos as they went in. No word on whether or not they were working cameras.

It was a bittersweet evening. You see, our elder is attending a private high school. While a few students from her middle school will be there, for the most part they will not. And I will not see some of the parents I have come to admire and value any more. I was sad to say goodbye, and had to explain that it isn't the academics but the distance (it's a 1 1/2 hr school bus ride to the high school -- the private school is 10 minutes from our house). Well, there is also the smaller class sizes and higher number of students focused on going to college. But mostly, it's the distance.

It's amazing to think that 14 years ago we were new parents in a constant state of panic, wondering what kind of person she would turn out to be. Now we know. And we couldn't be prouder.