Yesterday my son Shane had his kindergarten show. His school didn’t have a graduation or a moving up ceremony, just a show, which I am totally fine with. The three kindergarten classes sat together on stage singing songs and the whole show lasted about 20 minutes. Cute, short and just right.
What I didn’t expect was all the fanfare that came with this show. We arrived 2:35, doors opened at 2:30, and were way back in a line to get in. I don’t need to be in the front, I just want to be able to see my son. Then came the gifts parents had: balloons, flowers, stuffed animals. I don’t have anything. This is just going from kindergarten to first grade. Am I a bad parent who failed to recognize the big deal this is??
Then there was the outfits. Parents and family all dressed up and here I come in khaki shorts and a solid color shirt, my husband in a polo and khaki shorts. It was just a show on the stage in the school’s cafeteria, also know as the multipurpose room. Was I not dressed properly?
And then there were the lack of masks. My son was one of two kids between the three classes wearing a mask. We were one of the only people in the crowd wearing masks. Ironically two other families wearing masks were Shane’s two closest friends which I felt good about. I’m immune compromised and having surgery in less than a week so I need to wear a mask and don’t care if I stand out because of this.
While we were waiting to get in I saw a grandparent I know (didn’t realize her granddaughter was in kindergarten with my son!) but I felt too awkward and embarrassed to say hi and talk to her. There were so many people in line and I didn’t feel like getting into my whole cancer story and situation. I should have said hi and not been embarrassed but I was. I just didn’t want others to hear my story.
I just had to rehash everything with a disability agent yesterday and it’s a lot to go over. I’m sick of telling it because it was so difficult and stressful and I’m ready to try to move on from that challenging time of dealing with cancer while pregnant.
I’ll also add that the cafeteria was not air conditioned so it grew pretty hot in there and I felt nauseous the whole time so I’m glad the show was short so I could get home and lay down.
So it was an incredibly awkward experience but I’m also so glad I was able to be there to watch Shane’s show. I know he was glad Chris and I were both able to come.
To end with a more upbeat note, seeing all the gifts the parents brought to the kindergarten show I couldn’t stop thinking about one of my favorite scenes from The Incredibles (an underrated Disney movie in my opinion) when Bob and Helen are having an argument. Helen tells Bob he’s missing out on too many family things when he goes off on his jobs and she can’t believe he doesn’t want to go to his own son’s graduation. Bob responds “It’s not a graduation, it’s a ceremony. He’s moving from the 4th to 5th grade.” Helen then emphasizes “It’s a ceremony” to which Bob replies “It’s psychotic. We keep finding new ways to celebrate mediocrity.”
Now I’m not downplaying the significance of the completion of kindergarten. It’s a child’s first year of “real school.” They spend the full day away from home. It should be celebrated and is a big accomplishment. But the gifts and how overdone so many parents were at Shane’s show were a bit much and I couldn’t help but think of the scene from The Incredibles. To each their own, but let’s just tone it down a little. I can only imagine what the ceremony going from 5th to 6th grade will be like!
#kindergartengraduation #endofschoolyear #TheIncredibles #keepitsimple #immunecompromised #stillmaskingup #onetoughmother
