moving upward and onward

Many of you know how much I absolutely love our local elementary school. I taught there for 2 years before I had Aubrey, and I loved it then. I love it even more now. Public school isn't perfect. There is too much to do, with too little funds, too little parent involvement and a host of other ills. However, I found during my 7 years of teaching that almost every teacher I taught with loved his/her students and was teaching because they loved kids and wanted to make a difference.

Last summer I prayed a lot. I prayed for Aubrey's teacher, Mrs. Costley, who I didn't even know about. I prayed for Aubrey's classmates. I prayed for Aubrey's safety, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. I prayed for all involved in his first year of school. I couldn't even think about it without tearing up. As a former kindergarten teacher I know how important the first year of school is. I had all kinds of people giving me their opinions on where to send him, what to say, what to do, what not to do, etc. I even had a friend tell me she would be praying that I would change my mind about sending Aubrey to our local elementary school. That hurt, and actually it made me mad. As his mom, I would never do anything to put him in a position I thought would be detrimental to him in any way. So I prayed and prayed and prayed. God heard my prayers. He knew the desires of my heart and how tender I was about this journey. He couldn't have been more perfect.

Aubrey's kindergarten year has exceeded anything I wanted or hoped for him. His teacher was so wonderful for him. She cared for him in such a special way. I know she does it for all of her students because she let me come in once a week to do an art project with the kids. This was such a sweet time for me. I got to know all the children Aubrey talked about. I got to see how he interacted with his teacher and class. I felt like I wasn't just dropping him off at school, but a part of what he was doing. Mrs. Costley was so cautious about Aubrey's food allergies it made me feel secure. She called me to check on him when he was sick (which he was - a lot) and called me any time someone brought in food she wasn't sure if he could eat. Aubrey didn't come home asking me about horrible words, movies, tv shows, etc. I know that will come, but I had heard horror stories about it happening in kindergarten. His class was one of the sweetest classes I have ever been around. They liked each other. They were kind to each other. No behavior problems. No kid I didn't want to rub off on Aubrey. It was truly amazing, and I believe it was partly due to prayer.

Aubrey has matured a good bit this year. At kindergarted graduation he received the Explorer Buddy Award for being kind and friendly to others. The kind of award I hope he always receives. He learned a lot this year, both academically and emotionally. I am so thankful for Mrs. Costley, our administration and our entire school. It is a blessing in our life. I am sad to be moving on and up, but it is a fact of life. Now I'm just a little more secure in this change, and I know Aubrey is too.