12 Lessons in 12 Years: Part 1

After 12 long and short years, I am finally about to graduate from elementary school. It’s a bittersweet time, this, and I thought I would be happier for my family to move on to the next chapter. But there is something about the familiarity of the routines, the Cheers-ness of walking into a school where everyone from the nurse to the principal to the custodian knows your and your child’s name that’s just … nice. Comforting. Safe.

Middle school isn’t the same, this I know. I’ve already had two children go all the way through, and unlike the arguably predictable events of elementary school (Fall Family Fun Night, Auction, Dads and Donuts, Carnival) things change every year in middle school. There are new kids and new parents; new situations and certainly new challenges. And once you finally figure out the ropes, it’s over.

High school is better by degrees, because once you have survived the sights and smells of being a middle school parent you are certainly ready for the new horizons high school brings. As to be expected, everything bumps up several notches and takes on more importance in high school: sports, grades, and (gasp!) relationships. High school is the last frontier before your child finally launches into adulthood, and for better or worse, your job is mostly done by the end of it.

So knowing all of this, you can understand why I’m feeling nostalgic about these waning days of fifth grade. To mark this rite of passage, our school has an annual Style Show honoring the “out-going” 5th grade moms – meaning if your youngest child is graduating, you are invited to model clothing from a local store. (Modeling was on my list of Things I’ll Never Do, but so was Be a Cover Girl, and then I won a short story contest a few years ago and this happened:

The moral of that story is never say never. Also on the list: Win the Lottery, so stay tuned.)

Part of the Style Show tradition is providing “Words of Wisdom” from the graduating moms. I’m not sure how wise these words are, but I thought about 12 lessons I’ve learned in 12 years of elementary school. Some are easy ones, and some I learned the hard way. They might not be what you’d expect, but they are all things I’ve experienced —  for better or worse. I’m sharing the first six lessons today.

 

12 Lessons in 12 Years

12. If you are asked to volunteer for the PTA, say yes. You’ll meet a whole lot of nice people you might not have otherwise.

11. If you are asked to volunteer for the PTA, say no. What you see as a burdensome duty might be someone else’s delightful dream job.

10. One bright and extraordinarily sunny day, you’ll wake up and realize your family doesn’t have to do any more Science Fair projects.

9. When you have lunch with your kids at school (and you should), make sure you are having lunch with them … and not spending that precious time talking to the Mom across the table.

8. Deal with it. Your child is not going to be chosen for every team or invited to every party. It might be tempting to whine or complain about this. Don’t. Be a good example to your children and teach them how to deal with disappointment. Elementary school is the perfect time for this, because bigger and harder things are coming their way in the future, and it’s likely they won’t tell you about any of it.

7. Let it go. Most of the time, playground grievances work themselves out. Today’s conflict is potentially tomorrow’s best friend!

 

That’s all for today. Come back next week for the rest! In the meantime, I’ll be working on my runway walk.

(To read Part 2 of this post, click here.)