Journey to the Knot: The Kindergarten Highlight

On the very first day that Banner walked in to his new elementary school to meet his Kindergarten teacher, he asked Mrs. Brown if the class would be going on a field trip to the zoo this year. She said they would be, and Banner was so excited. That made his day! He couldn't wait. Fast-forward 7 and a half months later, and the big week of the zoo field trip was here!! It was a busy week, although the beginning of it was slow. Quinn had come down with a fever a week after Knox was diagnosed with an ear infection 11 days after he developed cold symptoms. It had been a few weeks of heightened pollen counts and all of our allergies were out of whack. But, Banner, true to his healthy self, remained well and untouched by the cold that was going through the house.

The end of the week was filled with several exciting activities for Banner: a swim meet, a Kindergarten performance, and of course, the zoo field trip. Wednesday night, Banner felt warm to me. He had a mild fever - not really even a fever. But, the next morning, he did have a true fever, although he was acting perfectly fine. Quinn was finally well enough to go to school, but I decided to keep Banner home (with Grandma since I had to work) in the hopes that a little rest would do him some good and maybe he could recharge for the excitement that he'd been looking forward to.

By the end of the day, with the help of some meds and some TLC, Banner didn't have fever anymore. He continued to cough a lot, but we decided he would be fine to attend the Kindergarten show he had worked so hard on at school for the past month ... and had paid "practice academy" consequences for while talking through many of the rehearsals. His grade level and teachers were depending on him to be there to deliver his line and to sing with them! So, the show went on, and he did amazing! Grandma, Papa, Big Boss, Aunt Kira, and Levi came to cheer Banner on, and they were all super impressed with the great job that these little kids did at their performance.

In addition to the company that came to make his event so special, the songs that were sung seemed to have been hand-picked for our family! The first song was "Your'e a Grand Old Flag," which Grandma has always sung with her grandkids in the summer as all the 4th of July flags fly high. She used to play a game with Caden & Mara when they were little bitty: every time they saw an American flag, they began to sing the song. Every time they saw a different flag, they would start over from the top, even if they hadn't completed the first round. With so many flags, they would start the song over and over and over again without making much progress into the song before having to restart, and before long, everyone was laughing. Well, that game has continued to be played with my boys, too, and they've pretty much memorized the entire song early on because of this game.

The second song was "Bushel and a Peck," a song my mother always sang to me when I was little and a song I sing to my kids still. Again, Banner already knew the words to this song from an early age, so it was so fitting to see my big boy up there reviewing this song that we've sung since he was an infant. The third song was a Spanish song, and it's the same song he used to sing in pre-school Spanish class! Then, Banner delivered his line beautifully. He spoke clearly and loudly and looked at the audience! It was an awkward line he was given: "We know that with all of our friends from other countries, it doesn't really matter what language you speak," but he did it well and successfully!

Then came the fourth song: "What a Wonderful World." This song has sentimental value to so many people in our family. Every summer I went away to camp, my dad would make me a mixed tape, and this song was always on each tape. Every time this song played when we were at a family function (Bar Mitzvah, wedding, etc), my dad would ask me to dance with him when this song came on. It became "our song," so it was an easy choice when I had my father/daughter dance at my wedding. In addition, Sam bought the book What a Wonderful World to read to Quinn after he was born because it reminds him of his mother. Whenever I read that book, I would sing it instead of reading... and Quinn would tear up, even as a baby. Sometimes I'd have to stop singing the book because he would get so emotional. He seemed to really connect to it. When Banner and his friends started singing this song, I nearly lost it, because in addition to singing it, they signed it! Anyone who knows me well knows sign language is my thing. I've loved learning to sign since I was little and even taught it to summer camp students years ago. So - to see my baby signing this beautiful song - feeling Bubbie's presence, realizing how fast time is flying and how Kindergarten is almost over, and just being in the moment with Quinn on my lap, Banner singing and signing and standing so beautifully with his peers... I fought tears hard!

Finally, the Kindergarteners sang their version of "New York, New York," retitled "First Grade, First Grade!" And cue the tears again! :) While this was upbeat, it was kind of overwhelming watching these 5 and 6 year old kiddos sing about their excitement of coming to first grade. It reminded me of how big Banner is getting yet how small he still is. First grade! He's still by little nugget but it's going so fast!

We left the show and continued to hang out taking pictures in front of the school. Banner was delightfully hanging with his family, looking for his friends to take pictures with, and eager to show us how he goes across the monkey bars before everyone had to get home. Other than some coughs here and there throughout the show, you would have had no idea this kiddo had fever earlier in the day. And, he felt cool to the touch throughout the night when I would check on him.

So, you can imagine how bummed we ALL were when he woke up the next morning with 101.8 fever. The thought of walking all over the zoo for his field trip was enough to make him come to terms with the fact that the zoo field trip he's been asking about since before Day 1 of Kindergarten would be something he'd have to miss. I promised him I would take him another day - as he moaned about missing out on seeing the snakes and cheetahs and leopards. He rolled over in bed, telling me he'd like for me to take him out on a date to the zoo just us one weekend. I happily obliged, but I was still really bummed for him. When we emailed his teacher that he would be absent again today, she responded with: "Oh my goodness, I am so sad to hear this. :( I hope he feels better soon. I will miss him today at the zoo! I still remember day one of meeting him: “Will we go to the zoo this year?” and he is missing it…poor thing!"

And later today, he will miss the swim meet he's supposed to participate in. My baby who NEVER gets sick is missing some big stuff today, but I'm SO glad he was able to participate in the fun last night - singing so nicely with his friends, celebrating this year he has worked so hard - making new friends, learning so much, gaining more confidence and recognizing how very smart he is, and having a night showing off his school and his class to his family. So, even though the zoo was supposed to be the highlight and we are disappointed to be missing out on it, the big performance last night has become the Kindergarten highlight that I know I will always remember. And, I hope Banner feels better soon, so we can get him to that zoo!