5 And A Beagle
"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." John Lennon
Friday, May 06, 2005
Milestones
Our son is headed off on a retreat next week with his grade 12 class. The last one for them as a group before they graduate and move on in June. The campus minister has asked that family and friends send letters of love and encouragement for the students to read while they are at the retreat called Palankas. This request came in the form of a letter in the mail about 3 weeks ago. These Palankas are to be kept a secret from the students and so I tucked the request away and ... forgot about it. That is until Tuesday on the way home from school. One of my son's friends was talking about how busy the next couple of weeks were going to be. School play, exams, games and the retreat. Suddenly a sick feeling came over me as I realized I'd forgotten about the letters. I had visions of my kid being the only one in the entire grade without any letters from loved ones. Another tally mark on the "it's all my mother's fault" scoresheet. I checked the letter from the teacher as soon as we got home and thankfully I hadn't missed the deadline. It was the next day, Wednesday. There was a frenzy of phone calls and e-mails to grandparents, uncles and cousins in Italy. I called the teacher the next day and managed to get a reprieve. Two extra days.
So here we sit, his Mom and Dad. How do you put into words on paper, what you've felt for the past 18 years. What you wish for the many years to come. It's quite the task, but I'm glad the school has asked for this. Without such an opportunity, some things don't get said, and a very special person in your life doesn't always know just how you feel about them. Sure they know their parents love them, but do they know what their fondest memories are, what they are most proud of, what they desire for their future? Plus the graduate gets a sense of just how important they are in so many lives and how many people are there to support them through thick and thin. I suspect along with the letters, the teachers will also be handing out a box of kleenex.
I have to confess I took a peek at a few of the letters. I actually couldn't help but see the one my brother wrote because he e-mailed it to me at work. I was glad to be in an office upstairs because I went from laughing to crying. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when the kids get their packages.
On a different note, here is a pic of the quilt squares my youngest and I have put together for Katie. Check out her website. She has a wonderful idea to put together a quilt to take along on the 60km Walk to End Breast Cancer in August. She's hoping to collect 380 blocks so that she can make the quilt. All the info is on her website. These are a few of the simple ones we did with a stencil and some fabric paint. I'm hoping to do a cross stitch of the ribbon a little later.
Well, that's it for now. Lots of writing going on tonight. Hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Mother's day to all the mothers out there.
|
So here we sit, his Mom and Dad. How do you put into words on paper, what you've felt for the past 18 years. What you wish for the many years to come. It's quite the task, but I'm glad the school has asked for this. Without such an opportunity, some things don't get said, and a very special person in your life doesn't always know just how you feel about them. Sure they know their parents love them, but do they know what their fondest memories are, what they are most proud of, what they desire for their future? Plus the graduate gets a sense of just how important they are in so many lives and how many people are there to support them through thick and thin. I suspect along with the letters, the teachers will also be handing out a box of kleenex.
I have to confess I took a peek at a few of the letters. I actually couldn't help but see the one my brother wrote because he e-mailed it to me at work. I was glad to be in an office upstairs because I went from laughing to crying. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when the kids get their packages.
On a different note, here is a pic of the quilt squares my youngest and I have put together for Katie. Check out her website. She has a wonderful idea to put together a quilt to take along on the 60km Walk to End Breast Cancer in August. She's hoping to collect 380 blocks so that she can make the quilt. All the info is on her website. These are a few of the simple ones we did with a stencil and some fabric paint. I'm hoping to do a cross stitch of the ribbon a little later.
Well, that's it for now. Lots of writing going on tonight. Hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Mother's day to all the mothers out there.
Labels: Palankas
|
