Class trip day...

Today was B's class trip to the amusement park. I brought in all the tie-dyed t-shirts first thing, having taken them home yesterday (after rinsing & untieing them at school), to wash them to get the rest of the extra dye out. The kids really got caught up in the magic of untieing their shirts & discovering the patterns left by the colours & rubberbands. It was great- they were so psyched. They enjoyed putting them on this morning even more :) And I heard at the end of the day that they really were helpful to the teachers & parents for spotting the Cobblestone kids in the sea of schoolchildren who were spending the day at the park.

The weather was supposed to be dreadful- rainy & cool, but a miracle occurred & the early-morning temperature dip reversed itself so that the kids were able to go to the water park. The sun even came out! The rain didn't start until they were on the way home. B seemed to have had a great day, with a few B-ish blips, of course. He worried about drowning in the wave pool, he told me later, because the waves kept going over his head, but he had the sense to get out before things got out of hand, anxiety-wise, which made me very proud of him. He also saw a game in the arcade that had the words "tear your heart out" on it (not a game he played- he assured me he wouldn't do that because the game was too violent) & these words have gotten another OCD thought process going which made the afternoon & evening difficult, tic & thought-wise. We came up with the image of one of his home-made pokemon sitting on his shoulder & defending him from the thought, which worked as long as I reminded him of it. I think he was just that much more vulnerable to the thoughts because he was so tired from his full day (not to mention the fact that he woke up at 4:30 this morning & never got back to sleep- sigh). He rode a lot of rides, some which did scare him, but he endured. He enjoyed many of them, too, & I think his overall experience was a good one. This is nothing to sneeze at (one of B's favourite phrases right now :), when you consider how noisy & crowded & unpredictable the park was today.

My day, after handing out shirts & kissing B goodbye, was busy, with the regular Thursday grocery shopping & then additional errands to pick up some final end-of-year gifts for B's teachers. Most of the gifts I made, but we decided that the only appropriate gift for Ryan, teacher of the other 3rd-4th grade class & B's frequent partner in practical jokes, was a bunch of whoopie cushions. I bought 9 for Ryan & 1 for B (his has poohed-out), & the lady at the joke shop actually gave me a bulk discount :) I can't wait for Ryan's reaction when he opens his gift & neither can B... As I left school this morning, after hanging-out & chatting for a bit on the playground, I felt the bittersweet feeling that the end of the school year always brings- but that I always forget about until the next year rolls around. As much as B has difficulty with transitions, so do I, although our difficulties tend to be over different things. B & I are actually very lucky this year. We discovered only last evening that his teacher for the past 2 years is switching positions with one of the 5th-6th grade teachers & B will have Jen for 2 more years!! Plus, his consultant teacher, Cherie, is also looping up to his next-year class, at least for one year. So the same team that has had so much success helping B learn, & who knows him so well, will be with him again next year. I told Jen it was like a dream come true :) We had prepared B for a new teacher next year, not knowing at the time that Jen would be moving up with B, & after meeting the current 5th-6th grade teachers on Tuesday, which was Moving Up Day (where the kids who are moving up visit their new classrooms, & the kids who aren't welcome the newcomers & answer questions), B seemed pretty neutral about them (he was much more interested in the science projects on exhibit & the "older kid" books in the 3rd floor library). He seemed pleased that Jen & Cherie would be with him next year, when I told him, though I've learned that he doesn't think too much about the people in his future, or worry, or anticipate. He deals when things occur, which is probably a good thing, since his dad & I do this sort of anticipating anyway.

So... tomorrow is goodbye to the way things have been for 2 years, goodbye to B's class for the past year. Only half of his class will be moving up... I may not see some of the parents I've made friends with & grown used to seeing this year quite as often next year. I'll be climbing 2 flights of stairs instead of one for the next 4 years (I've already begun whining about this, I'm sad to say...). B will be one of the big kids- officially. Amazing, wonderful, & true!!