Kindergarten for Flipper ended yesterday.

She has spent two years with the same teacher, and many of the same classmates, five days a week, 4 and 5 hours a day, week after week, month after month. Unlike the high school students - most of whom are beyond thrilled to flee - Flipper has
been teary and tormented and angst-ridden at the sight of her freshly emptied cubby, reluctant to both stay and go all in the same moment.

Yesterday the class had their last circle, where the children all sat on one side of the room and listened to a story about moving onward, and then, one by one, each student received a stone for wisdom, an orange for nourishment, and a flower for beauty as they move into their new life as a first grader.

I am quite sure, in your mind's eye, you can imagine the utter preciousness of this little ritual. Then the teachers said a few words, tears fell, and we went outside
for a potluck lunch. Flipper was so unbelievably overwrought that she fell apart and cried every ten minutes about absolutely nothing.

So we came home. And I forced her into a nap for the first time in months. Blessedly, she awoke in a much better mood, and we continued on our day.

And so yet one more milestone has been reached for Flipper, and for me as well. We look to fall - which feels very far away - with excitement and trepidation. And we look back to kindergarten, a teacher that defines the word amazing for me, and say good-bye. Again.

And hello to the future.

Leigh appears Fridays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh on her blog Flipper and Me.