Finale Rally

Finale. Final. The end. Those words sting a little bit tonight. We just got home from Towns' Finale Rally for school. For an hour we were entertained with everything the kindergartners learned all year. For an hour I sat there trying to hold it together so I wouldn't miss a thing. For an hour I had flashbacks of the first time we ever walked through those church doors when she was 6 months old...and she's been there almost every day since. She's got three more days of school and a big party on Monday and then she'll head down a new path to a totally different place. No more comfy, cozy church atmosphere (don't get me wrong - I couldn't be more thrilled about the school she'll be in next year). It's all she's known and all she's cared to know so far for the last 5 1/2 years. But now she's completely fine with being done with kindergarten and going to 1st grade. Me, not so much. It's been my security blanket knowing she was two minutes down the road and that come 12:30 she was mine for the rest of the day. I'm that mom. The one that could break out in the ugly cry at the drop of a hat. And I almost did when the program came to an end tonight with a slideshow. It was set to this music which did me in from the get go. The first thing that flashed on the screen was a picture of the children on the first day of school and beside it was a picture of them from Monday. It was amazing to see the difference. They looked like babies! I was a mess from then on. Should I tell you that the program started at 6 p.m. and I was sitting in the front row at 4:45? Probably not. I walked into the chapel and that's all it took...

I had a "moment" sitting right by myself staring at the chair that she'd sit in on the stage during the Finale Rally.
Oh. My. Heart.

I managed to pull myself together and pass a little time before it started with a few pictures outside...
Talk about a flashback - the dress Cate is wearing is one my sweet friend Jess gave Towns for her 2nd birthday. It's also the same dress she wore the day Cate was born. Why do I do this to myself?! Ha!

Jonathan and Bethany got there right before it started. The kindergartners came in, took their places, and then we said the pledges to the American flag, the Bible, and to the Christian flag. Towns led the pledge to the Bible and then told everyone we could be seated. They put on the show of shows. They sang songs about the days of the week, the months of the year, the 12 disciples, the books of the Bible, the layers of the rainforest, and the oceans. They said their Bible verses from A-Z, the ten commandments, recited poems, and showed off some math skills. They said a few things in Spanish, including their given Spanish names (Towns' is Isabel), and then sang a song in Spanish about colors...
They also sang a song to the tune of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" about the continents...
Their art teacher, Mrs. Mosley, presented us with their art work from the year in a portfolio...
Most of it went along with books she shared with them that they created illustrations for...
I smiled when I saw this next one. I'd forgotten about the battle to get Towns to write her S the correct way. I just knew she'd be going to college writing them backwards...
Funny how I wish she was still young enough not to know the difference.

Then the music teacher, Mrs. Smith, had them perform some songs while playing instruments. My favorite was 5 Little Monkeys...

At one point in the program, a family member was asked to come up to the stage. Mrs. Pace played it off like they had a gift for each family and needed someone to come accept it. Bethany went up for us...
She was horrified when Mrs. Pace announced that it was a trick. They were actually about to perform the Tootie Ta song in front of everyone! B was such a good sport and told me that I better not show a soul the pictures...
She'll kill me for it, but I couldn't resist! Towns knew the whole time and thought it was hysterical that they pulled it off. What was really funny was seeing grown men getting into it. You might recognize a few. Priceless!

Much to my dismay, it wasn't long before the Finale Rally was over. But all good things must come to end, and we couldn't be more thankful that Towns has had such a godly, loving teacher this year...
Everyone thinks their child's teacher is the best, and this is no exception. She was everything we could have hoped for and more. She was so tolerant of this sentimental, sappy mama. She even made Towns a new report card and filled everything in for the second time when some of the words got smudged from water on our kitchen counter. I didn't have to say a word about it, she just knew. If that's not the sign of a special woman, I don't know what is! She's made this transition so easy and seamless for us. I don't think she could ever know how grateful I am for her or how much I appreciate all she's done.

These two have been inseparable their entire lives, and we're so excited that they'll be at Ben Davis together next year...

I recorded the entire program with my video camera, but got some video with my camera as well. This was one of them. The kids were channeling their inner Ferris Bueller which was beyond hilarious...

Maybe it was one of those "you had to be there" things and that it came out of nowhere because it was unexpected, but it had us all laughing like crazy!

The three amigos (Or is it amigas? Maybe I should have a Spanish lesson!) in their shades...
This picture is blurry, but it makes me smile...
And just like that, it was over. Time to move on to bigger and better things I suppose. But part of me will always remember her like this from the first day of kindergarten...
And here I go again. Kleenex, please!

Bebby said even she almost cried tonight. I wanted to all over again after seeing those sweet things walking out hand in hand...
I'll be perfectly happy if Towns grows up to be just like her big sister.

This concludes the ridiculously overboard sentimental re-cap. Bless your heart if you're still reading. I've still got to make it through the last day of school (Friday) and the Splish Splash Bash at Mallard Farms (Monday) and then we'll be back to regularly scheduled programming!