{Future Graduate of 2023}

We made it through the BIG day!! A little hard to believe but, I am officially the mommy of a kindergarten graduate.

Travin’s graduation marks the end of an era for our family. It’s a little sad to realize that Jason and I are done with this stage as parents. We will never walk down the kindergarten hallway holding our child’s hand again. We won’t experience the little milestones like our child learning how to read a whole book by themselves or that first time they get excited because they learned how to count by 5’s and by 10’s. I know that we have so much more to look forward to and so many more milestones ahead of us. I am excited to take these new steps however, it’s a little sad to have to leave this stage behind. Most of you know how I feel about the wonderful world of kindergarten. I truly believe with all of my heart the kindergarten is the where the educational journey starts. It should be the most magical and memorable year of a child’s life because after all

“All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”

Our day started just like any other day, hectic, crazy, and someone just had to be grumpy. Grampy treated the kids to breakfast at the donut shop. You would think that the kids would have filled up on donuts but they chose to order breakfast sandwiches instead. We made our way to the school, dropped off some last minute costume items, and then Grampy and I headed home to get ready.


My graduation duties included balloons and candy for the special Cat and the Hat treat bags. Our first stop, Party City to pick up 24 balloons. We made our way back to the school and waited for the kindergartners to finish lunch. Once they loaded the buses, the girls and I snuck into the classroom and tied all of the balloons onto each of the graduate’s chairs. We put up a few last minute decorations, filled the treat bags with left over candy, and then quickly ran out so that we could make our way to the church before the start of the graduation ceremony.

The graduation production was kept under wraps. The teachers worked really hard with the kids and the kids worked really hard at keeping their secret.

At noon the kindergartners were led out onto the stage. After the principal made her speech, we were led in prayer, said the pledge of allegiance, and then the kindergartners took center stage as they performed E-I-E-I Oops!

After the show, the kindergartners were escorted out while the parents were left to watch as pictures of their kinder kids appeared on the big screen televisions.

And then...

The sounds of Pomp and Circumstance filled the room. The doors opened and a sea of blue caps came bouncing down the aisle.

Graduate Travin David Mall!

After the ceremony the graduates were whisked back to school on the big yellow buses. They were treated to cake and a few special treats before they were dismissed for the day.

I will confess that I shed a few tears. I wish with everything that I have, that I could have held Jason’s hand. I wish that we could have shared in that moment together. He would have smiled pretty big to see his son up on stage. I was a very proud mommy. I wish I could begin to express the feelings that came from my heart as I watched my little guy up on stage singing and participating with his friends. He has come so far this year! He has achieved so much! He’s on his way, he has places to go!

“I knew you could! And you knew it too!”

Congratulations Travin!!

Say “I think I can!” and you know what?

You will!