The Graduate

On the last day of school, Hubby and I attended a graduation.

The first of many that we will be attending (we hope)...

It was Knox's graduation from Big A Elementary!

5th Grade graduation with the opening by Mr. Sanders.

For me, I get emotional at these type of things.  I cry at every high school graduation (except for my own) I have ever been too...being a high school teacher that is about every year!  So of course I got emotional at this one!

I got emotional not because my little boy is growing up (I'm excited about him getting to adulthood) but because I remember all the hard times.



Knox with his teacher Ms. Housely.



I remember the fighting to get homework done...

I remember the tears that came struggling to understand a new concept...

I remember the stress of studying for spelling words we never got...

I remember the calls from the front office...

I remember having to interrupt for his teachers until the speech came...

I remember all the practicing speech every night and every day...

I remember finally getting the diagnosis of ADHD and realizing that our world would never be normal...

I remember struggling with medication and worried about if that was the right choice are not...

I remember the tears of stressing over CRCT testing...

I remember the days of waiting for test results...

I remember all the homework that had to be redone until we got it right...

I remember finally getting the diagnosis of a learning disability that we knew was there... 

I remember all the extra time spent working on basic concepts that I'm not sure we have gotten yet...

I remember all the extra meetings and phone calls to help Knox get through the year...

I remember all this and the fact that Knox learned.  He made it through 7 years and has come out ready to tackle 6th grade!!

From Pre-K to 5th grade, Knox has had to work harder than his classmates to get the same results.  Whatever he struggles with, we struggle with it together.  He has learned to compensate and has amazed us with his accomplishments!  



Knox with his speech teacher Ms. Mulkey.  She has been teaching Knox since 2nd grade.

For 7 years, I had kept the tears of those struggles bottled away...

But that day those struggles came out in my tears for his accomplishments!

I am so proud of him and all the obstacles he has faced and stared down!

Now comes the hard part....



Knox and his friend Andrew.

Being a parent of a...

Middle Schooler!!

(Help!)