The End of Act 1

July marks the end of what I am calling the first act of my parenting career. After 4.5+ years of having the kids at the Tel Hi Neighborhood Center, it is time to say goodbye. With Oskar graduating preschool and entering German Kindergarten in August, and said German school offering preschool allowing for one drop off, our time with this wonderful community has come to an end.

And knowing it was our last year, I decided to go all in. I became the PAC chair ensuring I would be fully involved in their school lives for the year. In this role I helped navigate the parents and staff through the reopening during the pandemic, ensured solid communications when discussions in person were no longer an option and I tried to keep the amazing community engaged and connected. 

My efforts culminated this past Thursday at our Family Day at Tel Hi: an afternoon for families to spend time together on the playground, see their kids play with their friends and actually mingle and meet other families at a school sponsored event. We had ice cream, pizza, balloons and music. There were probably more than 100 people over the course of the afternoon and it put a huge smile on my fully masked face knowing we were leaving the community in the same way we found it: thriving.

Oskar and Alva still have four more weeks at school before German school starts, however most of Oskar’s friends will be gone in August, so it feels like the end of an era. But I am also excited to see what comes next, homework and all.

Proud parents at Oskar's Preschool Graduation

As a side note: while nowhere near the size or scale, the afternoon reminded me of the Lafayette School Westival Fundraiser. The annual fundraiser was the premier event of my elementary school: dunk tanks, cake walks, face painting and music and dancing. It was the event to see and be seen at when I was 10 years old. And after seeing the joy at Family Day, I might have a slight itch to maybe do the same thing in the next act.