Celebration

Last night, when Mr. Wicke got home from work, we took our little family out for a end-of-the-school-year celebration.  Logan had reached her personal goal of breaking 700% for her assigned reading goal and Griffin...well, Griffin had improved his classroom deportment from near-criminal to at least acceptable.  We'll take what we can get.

I had to laugh when a friend told me that her son got a yellow card (gasp!) the other day, an unheard of incident in their household.  So unheard of, actually, that when--as she was tucking him into bed--she asked if he had gotten a green card that day and he shook his head, she automatically responded with a delighted, "Did you get a purple card?"  See, that made me laugh right out loud.  Really hard.  Of course she'd ask that.  He has actually received a few of those commendations.  I, on the other hand, didn't even know purple cards existed!

But, I have to hand it to my Griffin.  He's come a long way this year.  No more sticks.  No more special timer.  Only a couple of (well-deserved) yellow cards in the last couple of months.  And that is to say nothing of his academic performance which has always been excellent.  We are very proud of him.  I give him a purple card in my heart; how about that?

And Logan, as her teacher announced yesterday at their class awards program, received the "Voracious Reader" award; according to the computer's count, she has read 944,000 words in her outside reading this year!  Her teacher told me we should be very proud as that was an outstanding accomplishment, and we are.

So pleased, in fact, that we celebrated with bean and cheese burritoes, quesedillas, and churros at Rubios.  Then it was off to the mall where they each picked a Webkinz.  If ever I let Logan choose a reward, she suggests a Webkinz, and Griffin follows along in her footsteps.  Logan chose the Portuguese Water Dog (us and the Obama's) and Griffin got the Golden Retriever.  I'm not sure how many Webkinz Logan needs before she reaches the saturation point, but so far we have not met it.  She is "collecting" them, as she told us very matter-of-factly.

And while she is busy collecting stuffed animals, I am collecting a heartful of memories.  Yesterday, when I bumped into a couple of women from church, they both commented how they would love to go back to when their kids were little again.  How those were the sweetest, golden years.  I thought of that while I watched Griffin's end of year slide show that he brought home yesterday, and I got a little teary-eyed.  All those happy moments come and gone. 

Already my children are changing.  Learning.  Growing.  Exactly as they should be.  Yet I know it is just a blink and a breath before the children in front of my eyes are gone.  In just a couple of years, she won't love Webkinz anymore.  And Griffin, while still having a mischievous twinkle in his eye, will no longer poke his teacher's bottom (I HOPE!) or come home covered in mud.  I cannot stop it, but I can celebrate it.  We can celebrate the milestones, the happy moments, the changes, and the growth. 

There is never too much celebration.  Never too much of telling them how proud we are to be their parents.  Never, never too much love.