Our middle daughter graduated Kindergarten today. For her, the day began light, joyous, and carefree. Summer is here! No more homework! And the big perk of school being finished for a few months for our first girl? Sleeping in. She would roll out of bed at 9 or 10 AM every day if she could. I also gave her the next card in her stack from daddy. The cards are in chronological order. The last one she got was for her sixth birthday. Today’s was Kindergarten graduation. The next one is her seventh birthday. There must be at least 20 more in the stack. We tried to cover everything.

Today has been a different story for me emotionally. Simon wasn’t here for this graduation. He won’t be here at the next graduation, the next party, the next victory, and all the other milestones I hope she gets to experience in her lifetime. Many will love these children over the years but it will never be quite like how Simon loved them. My grief is still so heavy in this area. The weight of the loss is magnified when I stare at these three young humans we created together.

As they ceremony concluded this morning. our daughter’s teacher read a letter to the parents. She had trouble getting through it because she started bawling. I did too. She loves her students. She showed abundant grace to our sweet girl during the hardest year our family has faced, That teacher was the quintessential Kindergarten teacher – firm, kind, soft spoken, consistent, and genuine.

Dear Parents,
It was a great pleasure to have your little ones in my classroom this year. We learned so many things together. And they are so proud because they finally know how to read and write.
The year is over so now I return your children to you, the same children you entrusted to my care last August. I return them a few inches taller, more responsible, and much wiser.
Even though they would have grown without my help, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to see their personalities grow day by day and see how they have developed in their learning.
Take care of your children. They are so precious to me.
Remember I will always have great interest in your children and their destinies, wherever they may go, whatever they do, and whatever they become.

Today, I’m so proud of our graduate. I know Simon would be proud, too.