The First Day of the Last Year

I had the oddest feeling as I drove my 11 year old daughter to school this morning.

Never mind that it was way too early and I only had a half a cup of coffee to get me going. I’m not used to being up and fully showered and dressed by 7am. I had 2 months of rolling out of bed when I felt like it and enjoying my leisurely pot of coffee while sitting in pj’s and checking email. We’re back to the grind… the kid and me.

This year is bittersweet. It will be our 12th year in elementary school. Well, MY 12th year as an elementary school parent. My youngest daughter is in 6th grade, meaning everything she will experience this year will be a final moment for me as a parent. Today was the last first day of elementary school. Ever. I’ve driven to this place, where we know every teacher and every inch of the campus by heart, for so long that to even think of not being here is exciting and terrifying at the same time.

As I stood up in front of our new kindergarten parents this morning and gave my last first day PFO speech as President, I felt that lump in my throat start to build. Give me 10 months and I’ll be a wreck at graduation. But in between, every school event, every class play, every project that comes home, will be our last. It’s no use slowing down time… it never happens.

This year our school theme is “LEGEND,” as in… What do you want your Legend to be? I’ve been giving that a lot of thought lately and in terms of our little public school, the one with less than 400 students, the one tucked away in the highlands of Santa Clarita, I want our Legend to be much bigger than we are.

I want to leave our school with our parents knowing that their children are well schooled, well engaged and well prepared for life beyond the classroom. I want our kids to know that they can do anything, be anything, and create a life where success and happiness are not mutually exclusive. I want our teachers to feel that they are critical to the success and well-being of every student that walks through the door. I want to leave the PFO Board in capable hands, with dedicated parents who will run with the idea that education can be fun if we make it so. I want to leave enough money in the budget so they don’t have to stress about paying for field trips and school busses and back-to-school night. I want our community to hear our school name and say, “Wow… they are rocking it over there.” I want the parents who felt we didn’t have anything left to offer to take another look and second guess their decision to leave.

Today might be the first day back at school, but it’s the last year for us… and yes, I’m sitting here wiping away the dripping tears from the laptop. It’s the beginning of the end.