Simone Swanson is now a preschool graduate. The graduation day came and I really thought I would be in tears throughout the entire ceremony. Not only is my baby now a big kid, but we have been part of the YMCA daycare family since 2008. This place has helped us raise our children. The Swanson family has met so many extraordinary individuals at our daycare who have helped to develop the minds, bodies and character of our sweet kids. It was very bittersweet to say goodbye to the amazing place with amazing people.
Simone was very excited about her graduation day. She knew that she had a large fan base attending the ceremony: Mom, Dad, Cullen, Mimi, Grandma Liz, Jameson and Quinn. She told us she was practicing some songs, but when asked what they were, she said "you will have to come to the program and see!". On the drive to school on the morning of graduation, Simone had a lot to say. "Mom, make sure Grandma Liz gets there early." "Mom, have Cullen go to the bathroom before he gets there. He's not going to want to miss a second of the program." "If you sit behind someone tall, please move so that you can see me." So many words of advice for a preschool graduation!
As the pomp and circumstance music started, we watched the sweet 5-year-olds enter the gymnasium. Then, I started to tear up. We saw Simone enter, wearing her red graduation cap and she looked so confident. That is, until she saw Dirk. She walked right over to her dad, put her head in his lap and started bawling. I am pretty sure it was nerves/stage fright and whatever else a 5-year-old preschooler would worry about. We tried to console her as her class performed its first song. By song #2, I was able to walk her over to her teacher, Miss Amy. She sat in the front row next to Miss Amy and watched her class perform the songs she had been practicing for weeks. Then, the third and final song came on. Little did we know, this was her favorite song: "What does the Fox say?". She walked up on stage owned the dance moves and sang every word. We have very few pictures and no video of this performance because we were all so worried that if we made eye contact, she would lose it again.
Simone ended up getting her preschool diploma and finishing the rest of the ceremony without incident. She continues to be very proud and does not speak of the stagefright issue. We are very proud of our preschool graduate and big talker! And I learned that once you have to step into "parent mode" any emotions or tears have to take a backseat.
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