Last year Hayley said she had fun at soccer but she didn’t really play much. She occasionally kicked the ball but mostly she just ran around the field and frequently did gymnastics spontaneously by throwing herself into somersaults and the like. However, she was only four at the time, one of the youngest on the team.

This year she’s one of the bigger kids and it shows. She’s still reluctant to get into the middle of everything because she doesn’t entirely believe that shin pads will keep her from getting hurt what with all the kicking feet, but she’s more aggressive and really does try to go after the ball.

When she played at the soccer expo season opener I missed the whole thing because Breanna was antsy and by the time we got back the game was over. Then we went for the game last week only to be met with a thunderstorm. This week was the first time I actually got to see her play this season and the difference is amazing – I guess it helps that she often plays soccer outside at recess with some of the kids at school. In fact, for this game, one of her good friends was playing on the other team so that was fun!

I was really excited to see her charging after the ball and actually getting it around on the field unlike last year.

It was exciting, I’m looking forward to the rest of the season!

*******

Hayley is so close to finishing school. Her last day is next Friday, the 20th. I can’t believe that it’s almost over. I remember how hard the beginning of the year was, and how it broke my heart to leave her crying in the school yard every morning as one of the Kindergarten teachers gently led her away. I know she has no idea how many of those mornings would find me crying as I left because I always put on a big, bright smile and waved as she went into the school. September was probably the longest month of my life but then everything just sort of clicked, she fell in love with school, and now the rest of the year has flown by and I am in shock that in just over a week I will have a child who is going into first grade. How did that happen?

Things have really changed. She runs into school with her friends, she is often disappointed when she comes home on Friday afternoons because she won’t see her classmates for two whole days, and she’s concerned about keeping in touch over the summer.

Today I woke up and felt pretty horrible. Horrible enough that I just wanted to go back to bed. In a reversal of roles, I was pleading Hayley to just stay home today, please please stay home, and she was flat out refusing, insisting that she had to go to school.

In the end I sucked it up and took her, and later I told her how proud I was because many other kids would have jumped on the chance to stay home and play hookey.

*******

The school doesn’t have any kind of formal graduation for Kindergarten. They may do something fun and special on the last day of class but there’s no ceremony like some schools have. I’m going to pick up some black posterboard at the dollar store this weekend and one night when she’s sleeping I’ll make her a grad cap. I’ll hide it until Friday and when I pick her up I’ll give it to her to wear and we’ll take her to McDonald’s for supper, something she frequently requests. It will be our own little private grad party.

*******
There is nothing on. I can’t decide whether to just go to bed (gasp, at 10 pm?!) or try to read something. I’m in between books now. I recently finished A Thousand Splendid Suns and despite the fact that I sobbed hysterically through most of it, it’s now moved its way up my list to perch at the top as my favorite book EVER. The problem with that is it’s hard to pick something new up to follow it. I ended up choosing what I thought was total young adult fluff and read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but it ended up being so good that I’m dying to get the sequel now. It also wasn’t as light as I thought and I ended up crying over that too. Maybe I should go find one of my books by David Sedaris so I can laugh, this book crying is getting a bit much.

I think I’ll make a cup of tea and try to read. We’ll see how long I last before I face plant on my pillow.