You've been schooled

With back to school preparation in full swing I took a peek in my file cabinet to see what my "Shay's School" and "Kiera's School" folders contained. Not so surprisingly, the file folders were bursting with school handbooks from 5 years ago, preschool diplomas, and bus discipline policy contracts. In addition, there were report cards from every trimester for each child -that makes a total of 24 report cards! If I keep accumulating paper at the current rate, I will need an entire file drawer to house the files.


In less than 10 minutes I whipped through the files and made a large contribution to our blue recycling bin. Every single report card - gone. All outdated flyers and handbooks - gone. Preschool diploma - gonzo as well. Now before all of my faithful readers start throwing parenting books at me, let me explain. I am a very sentimental gal. Taking pictures and savoring memories through them is one of my favorite pastimes. And until this space and time I held onto many other pieces of memorabilia. But, I have come to realize that many of these items hold less significance than I once believed. As I skimmed over each report card it became clear that the 3's and 4's next to math and reading did not bring back any flood of happy memories of younger versions of Shayla and Kiera. Even the teacher's comments fell short - especially since the comment section on the computer generated report cards leaves room for about 1 sentence. How does one give any sort of meaningful commentary on my child under such constraints? What I'm really saying here is that I am fortunate enough to have kids that are chugging along through school at a fairly decent pace. This is not a surprise to me - or their teachers. And no number assigned to a line will serve a purpose in my upbringing of them or in capturing a memory of their school career.

There were a few things I saved and refiled. Copies of their vaccination records seemed pertinent so they were safe. I also held onto the username and password for each child in order to access "power school". From what I gather, this will allow me to peek at their test scores, assignments, and attendance which apparently is important in the upper grades. Talk about encouraging helicopter parenting! Finally, I saved a letter from Kiera's 1st and 2nd grade teacher. As I reread it, I pondered the 2 years that Kiera spent with Ms. D. Her letter was not specifically about Kiera but more of a self reflection. She shared about the transformation that she had made in her travels with this classroom of kids. Ms. D taught much more than the math curriculum and the latest reading tactics. She poured her soul into the kids in hopes of making them better citizens and friends. In her letter she quoted something that her dad always said to her as a child when he was encouraging her to invite anyone she could see who was alone to join them for a cookout. "Sometimes people are alone because they want to be and sometimes they are alone because nobody ever invited them in." This was the sort of life lesson that Kiera was exposed to over the last two years. For that I am thankful. And, as a way to remember her journey with Ms. D through 1st and 2nd grade - I will hold on to the letter.