last day.

friday was the kids' last day at school before we move to the new school down the street. i tried to hold it together, but it hurt me. i think mostly because it's the only place they've ever known and it's where they go every day where i know they (mostly) have fun and feel safe, where i feel safe sending them. and now they're off to a new world, new place, new experience...which i know will ultimately be ok. and probably hopefully more than ok. but they are just so little and the world is so big and i'm sentimental.

anyway. i made mini fruit kabobs for ek to share during farewell circle and strawberries (hollis's favorite) for him to share. i picked them up at 11:30 so we could drive to houston to meet my parents for a long weekend, and they each did really well with the whole thing. honestly, even though we talked about it and i've explained it several times over the course of the last several days, i don't think either kidlet (even emme) actually gets it. because they have no context for any other school environment. which brings me back to why i was super emotional about the whole thing.

it turns out going to houston and having a week off with fun family time has been the best thing that could have happened to lead up to the change, but more about that later. for now, a little transcript of hollis's teacher's note to him, written on the turtle he painted during his farewell (turtles are his fave):

oh, hollis. it's been such a pleasure to spend time with you. we will miss you! you're a funny little fellow, with your old-man shuffle and set routines. you light up whenever we put new animals of any kind in our classroom, and you know all of their names. you can say a lot of words, even long words like 'nap mat' and 'lunchbox'. you like to be inside or outside, but you want to make sure there are always books available to read. and you are very literate - it's so cute to see your whole-body participation in circle time. we wish you the best, friend.

 we will miss our friends and teachers at hms.