The last week of school

I swore I was going to write a blog post this weekend, and here we are, down to the last 56 minutes of Memorial Day weekend, but I'm doing it. It'll just be a recap of the week, no philosophizing.

So let's see, what all happened this past week.

Monday, the 20th, my book group came. My broken toe and Pie Bear's cancer and everything combined to leave me with a dirtier house than usual, but I didn't cancel because I wanted the company (and sympathy). And only two people ended up coming (one went out of town unexpectedly, one forgot). While we chatted about this and that, even the book, a little, it began to snow. Yes, on May 20/21 we had a heavy, wet snow. I felt this was really uncalled for, especially since I had just planted all my front-yard flowers. I brought the smaller pots onto the porch, covered the big pot with plastic, and hoped for the best.

Tuesday, the 21st, Rocket Boy flew in for a very brief visit. We didn't meet his plane because I didn't want to drive to the airport in stormy rush-hour traffic, but the trusty AB bus got him here pretty quickly. There are two AB buses now, and the one he caught doesn't go down Broadway, so the twins and I picked him up at the Table Mesa Park 'n' Ride, where I got honked at by another bus. It was fine, lovely to have him home, and almost all the snow had melted by the time he got here.

Wednesday, the 22nd, was the continuation ceremony. We had a bit of trouble getting out of the house on time and we did forget one or two things, but it was fine. I loved every bit of the ceremony. Each of the 40-odd 5th graders read a short speech -- talking about their memories of elementary school and their hopes for the future. I cried through most of that. Then they walked across the stage to receive their certificates of continuation (the photo shows the principal shaking Kid B's hand, with Kid A lined up behind him. It occurs to me that they'll sit next to each other and walk up to get their diplomas one after the other for their middle school and high school graduations too (assuming they go to the same high school, which they probably will). That's what twins do.

A special part of the ceremony for me was when they gave out flowers to people who'd done a lot of volunteer work through the years, and I was given a bouquet. And then the choir sang and all the kids played a song on the ukelele (Kid A is playing the pink one in the front row). After the ceremony we had cake and talked to people. I met the mom of one of Kid B's friends. All the parents who've been right along with us since kindergarten -- and it's a high percentage, maybe 2/3 of the class? -- smiled and said wasn't it lovely and did you cry too? And then of course we had to go, because Rocket Boy had to catch the bus back to the airport at 1:40. He drove Kid A to his special school One Last Time, came home and threw things into his suitcase, and was out the door with no time to spare. The kids and I were sad that night.


May 23rd, Thursday, was the last day of school, and it rained again. After signing each other's yearbooks (yes, there are elementary school yearbooks, I never knew), the kids walked all the way to CU in the rain to go bowling as their final 5th grade activity. I had sent an umbrella along with Kid B, but Kid A had no rain gear and was forced by his teacher to wear a plastic garbage bag (which he took off as soon as they started walking). The photo shows Kid B trying to avoid having his picture taken as we walk toward the back exit across the creek for the last time.

I can't wrap my head around the fact that I may never enter that school again. We'll play on the playground of course, on warm summer evenings, but our official association with the school has ended. The boys are rising sixth graders now, rising middle schoolers. And their middle school is NOT just down the street from us. That six-year era in our lives is over. So weird.

Friday the 24th was of course a beautiful sunny day, but I had to work, so I took the twins (and their laptops) to the office with me. Kid A's computer died after less than an hour, and he hadn't brought his charger, so when my Zoom call was over, we went home. Actually we tried to go to Starbucks at the UMC first, but due to construction, all food service there is closed until August. Major bummer.

Saturday was a low-key day, just the usual errands and such. We almost always eat out on Saturdays, so we went to our neighborhood Chinese restaurant -- appropriate, since our theme this coming week is Asia (it's A week).

Sunday the 26th, we paid a visit to the annual Creek Festival downtown. I always forget how expensive that thing is, and how you really need to bring a lot of cash. The kids always want to go in these bubble things and it's $10 each! No credit cards or checks or tokens or anything except CASH. They love it, though, so I paid. I also bought them cotton candy ($7 each!!!) and then we went to the park next to the library and played there until I said it was time to go home.

And now finally today, Memorial Day, we had two major activities. We put flowers on their grandmother's grave and we went out to Gateway Fun Park and played mini-golf. It was beautiful at the cemetery, but while we were on the mini-golf course, the skies started to darken, and later, when we were inside playing arcade games, a thunderstorm crashed down.

Back at home, we decided to have a quiet rest of the day. I let the twins watch TV (MUST do something about how much they watch... except not right now) and we had grocery store sushi for dinner (more A is for Asia stuff -- but not sure the twins are noticing this).

So that was the last week and the weekend following it, and now we have a short work week ahead. I am dreading it, wondering what to do with the twins while I try to work. I've accomplished very little, work-wise, the past two weeks, and I need to do better on that score.

I said no philosophizing, so there won't be any, just this comment: I'm really sad right now. Sad that Rocket Boy isn't here, sad that school is over, sad that I have to be a single parent, sad. I hope this gets better. Rocket Boy is so happy with his new job, so excited about his paycheck (the first one is due this coming Friday), so proud to be working and earning. I'm really glad that he's happy and I don't want to mess that up. And somehow I've got to figure out a way for me to be happy too.