Friday, December 21, 2012

The Last Day of School

Today was the end of our time in Arlington, and the girls left for school with heavy hearts.  They each got a quick pep-talk about how its okay to be sad, but its also okay to push the sad thoughts out of your heart with happy thoughts instead.  Neither of them ate much breakfast.  Sophia came home two hours later, after throwing up in class.  Its been a stressful week, with too little sleep and practically no fruits or vegetables.  The poor child is beyond exhausted.

We scheduled farewell parties for each of the girls this afternoon, and Lilly made us proud.  We arrived at 2:00 and her teacher shared that Lilly had been pretty quiet and somber all morning.  She ate her cookies quietly and didn't smile at us much.  But when the snacks were finished, she stepped up.  She handed out good-bye cards personally to everyone in the class, and she took the seat of honor to answer questions about Venezuela.  She knew more than I expected her to, and had great answers to questions like Why do you have to leave?  When we finished, her classmates attacked her with hugs and she left in high spirits.

Sophia recovered from the morning by spending much of the day on the hotel couch watching cartoons, but her party was still off due to school puking rules.  She walked to the door and waved good-bye to everyone. The other kindergarteners sent virtual hugs and called out their good-byes.  Honestly, I think she prefered it this way.  Her stress was physical, and hug attacks would have been difficult.  She preferred to curl up in a ball.

Each teacher made a lovely parting gift for the girls, of a notebook filled with letters and pictures from their classmates.  The highlight of Sophia's is the friend who says I will miss you because you are going away.  The highlight of Lilly's is the many different ways to a second grader could write Venezuela:

  • Vaniswala
  • VenesWhaleA
  • Venoswala
  • Veneswala
  • Beniswela
  • Weniswela

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