Emotional milestones

Today, I hit an emotional milestone.

ManCub's 6th grade recognition was this morning. For 10 years, I have been part of that school, from Tiger's Eye attending from 1st grade until today, when my youngest is now ready to go to junior high.

I no longer have a child in K-6. It's sobering.

Ms. V, who has been a part of ManCub's IEP and structured school planning, made a slide show of all the 6th graders, some pics from 1st grade. Wow. It looped through three times, each time more enjoyable than the first, while waiting for the actual ceremony to begin. It started 15 minutes late, but the Spaghetti Factory pictures, one for each kid, noodles hanging from their mouths (Ms. V wanted us to know for certain it was staged), made us laugh.

It's amazing.

As each picture popped up, a parent, guardian, or relative hollered out to claim him or her. I couldn't believe how many people said, "Oh, it's ManCub!" Another parent answered, "Yeah, he's always in red. That's before the hair."

My trademark Cardinals fan. It's hard to remember what he's worn for the week because everything he owns is Cardinals red or has a Cardinals logo on it.

The gentleman behind me saw the picture of ManCub with a bat and turned to his family member.

"Oh, that's that great kid I told you about at the game. He's a huge Cardinals fan. He didn't give me any trouble the whole time we were there."

The 6th grade patrol took a tour of Busch stadium and then stayed for a game that should've been rained out, but stayed on schedule.

I turned around and said, "Hey, he's mine!"

"What a kid," he said. "I only had to yell at him five times."

My face drew up a bit.

He patted my arm. "Just kidding. He stayed close and absorbed the game. Couldn't ask for a better kid."

Nope, I can't. I saw all the kids sitting together. They'll still be together next year, all going to the same junior high. I can't wait to see how they grow and branch out.

I came home and took a nap.

Then...

KitKat graduated from 8th grade, from the same school ManCub's going to next year, the same one Tiger's Eye left two years ago. She let me put makeup on her. She joked that she's never going to have to learn how to do it because Boo, Squitch, and I have it covered. I put her eyes in shades of green. She wouldn't let me put mascara on her. Her eyes are actually quite oriental in structure, and she must sit with her eyes closed while the mascara dries or it ends up in her eyebrows. Yes, her eyebrows. Not only that, she doesn't like the way it feels on her glasses.

Yeah, we should all be so lucky.

She looked gorgeous. But, you know what the most amazing thing is? I primped her, face only. She got out of the shower and let her hair go. She wore clothes like any other day. I love that about her. She's the ultimate come-as-you-are person, and she goes as is. She's my shy one when it comes to conversation, but she's the bold one when it comes to "if you don't like it, don't look."

One of her classmates wore a tiara. I saw it, she saw it, and we looked at each other and made a "pfft" noise. That made about as much sense as the kids coming to the 8th grade graduation dance in limousines. Pfft.

I looked at her friends tonight. They're all so similar in personality. Two of them, a set of twins, love to play around with hair color. Their older sister, Tiger's Eye's good friend, is the same way, but it's not vanity; it's personality. Their mom buys Kool-Aid mostly for the temporary color washes! I sat with their mom. She's a lot like me in personality, and she fights the big battles and lets the small ones go. Most moms would throw fits if their kids turned their hair pink on a whim, but she'd rather them be goofy with their hair rather than sneak out of the house and change clothes. In a house with four females, I think they spend hours over a sink or in the beverage aisle, quality time. These girls (and their mom) are so much fun. Their mom didn't care for the tiara either.

One of KitKat's friends delivered a class speech. In stark contrast to two years ago, at Tiger's Eye's 8th grade graduation, this girl was genuine. She spoke honestly with not a single word clouded by theatrics or just the desire to be a perky, fantastic orator. We have a perky meter system, 0-10. RJ's classmates registered 16. I swear, the girls bounced! Jazz's voice carried well and was totally appropriate for 8th grade. One of KitKat's other friends sang the national anthem. She wore no makeup. Neither did Jazz or KitKat's other good friend.

There's no pretense with these young women. They're not trying to grow up fast at all. Most of them love to read and socialize, and all think their parents are pretty okay people to hug in public and hang on. KitKat has benefited from each one of them. It's so nice to go pick up a kid from a school function and still see 13- and 14-year-olds rushing out to grab their parents, hug them, and drag them back to meet a friend or 15. There's an unspoken bonus to the parents who can tell the twins apart (I can when they're together) and remember the names at least 90% of the time.

I have three great kids. Somewhere, God rewarded me for something. I know I fuss about the homework (or them not getting it done) or surprise projects or surprise school events, but my kids are people that other families remember. Tiger's Eye was asked about by the elementary teachers and the coach mentioned how great he was to volunteer his time, assisting him with basketball drills and practice, a 16-year-old loving the sport and activity more than being perceived as hanging out with a bunch of 6th graders.

I still can't get over the tiara but, in the same turn, she was the only one wearing one, and she wore it proudly until she left. Maybe I'll give her the benefit of the doubt on this one. Maybe she's like KitKat in that she's secure enough to do something totally and completely different.

We have a great school system. They turn out great kids, who make parents look good.