Graduation...Junior Kindergarten style

I had one VERY excited 5 year old on my hands this week...."Is it graduation today?" I got asked many times over the past few days and yesterday I got to say yes. The kids had to be dressed and in their class for 3:45 so I decided to pick Ciera up after lunch, bring her home, bath her and put her hair in curlers before her nap so she could have cascading waves for her graduation.

Hair up, she naps and I work. To her credit she only complained once that they hurt, but they are the spongy ones so I think she was just being a wee bit dramatic! Her other option was heading to daycare in the morning with curlers in but I could not do that to her (or me)!

Finally the time comes to get her up...darn hair is not quite dry so short of putting her head under the old fashioned bonnet (which we don't own, but it'd be handy!) I burn my fingers repeatedly trying to dry the curls....what we do for vanity. Her hair comes out of the curlers in ringlets, but I was afraid to brush it then thinking it might just straighten it. It's interesting, her hair has a natural wave to it but curl it and it lasts all of about 5 minutes...I don't get it.

We both get dressed, Ciera asked for makeup, mom said no, Ciera asked for perfume, mom says yes . While I am getting dressed, Ciera walks in reeking with perfume asking if she can put some on the back of her neck....."ummm no honey I think you have enough on"

Off to daycare we go, in her classroom I brush her hair out.....this was the result....

not quite what I was envisioning but not too bad for my first effort :-)

I head down to the room where they are doing graduation, sitting there I hear the start of "Pomp and Circumstance" I start to tear up and realize "yikes this is only JK!", in walks my daughter looking so serious. She would not look at anyone as she walked by, my sister Linda was taping for me and in watching it back last night I can hear her saying "Ciera, Ciera" but to her credit Ciera did not look, apparently she was following instructions from her teachers.

The ceremony was very cute, her class all got up on stage and sang a song and then recited Psalm 100, then each child went to the microphone and said "when I grow up I want to be a....", Ciera got there and said

"when I grow up I want to be an astronaut"

Of all the things she could have said (Batman, a boy, etc) this was somewhat of a relief, but still I cried, I'm so proud of her....she said it loud and proud.

The Senior Kindergartens did a similar thing and then they called each of the children's names and they received their "diploma", we were told it was a fake one so not to worry if they scrunched them up!

The head of the daycare then got up and made a little speech starting with the words "I'm going to try not to cry..." which of course made me tear up again, then she said how so many of these children she had known since they were in diapers, which made all the kids laugh and go "ewwwww" and how proud she was to see them growing up (more tears from me, and of all days I had no Kleenex, the mom behind me had handed me some when the kids got up on the stage). Then the clincher, they had put together a slide show of the kids and their teachers from various things they had done over the year and played the Rascal Flatts song "My wish", that's when I lost it (on a good day this song makes me cry), I had to hold myself back from sobbing. A friend said today "for the wedding bring a large size Kleenex box and a drop sheet", thanks Peter...you are right!!

Here is my graduate......

My Wish (Rascal Flatts)

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big