47 Degrees!

Yes. You read that title correctly. It was almost 50 degrees here yesterday. It was Elijah's last day of school and the first "official" day of "Summer Break." And, it was 47 degrees and raining(!) when I picked him up from school. Just 4 days ago, it was 107 degrees when I picked him up. Definitely not the normal temperature for this time of year here in the High Desert. But, the weirdness of it all IS normal for this place. So, our "little boy" is headed to third grade in the Fall. Yikes. I think it was on his birthday (a few weeks ago) that I had a BIG realization. He's closer to being a teenager than he is to being a baby. Oh Lord. That's a thought that could stress a mommy out. Let's not go there again. Anyway, we had a GREAT school year, a FANTASTIC teacher, and good friends. When I picked him up yesterday, his class was in the Cafeteria playing indoor games (because of the rain). We hugged Mrs. McGarty and went to his room to get all his stuff. When we got there, all the desks and furniture were pushed to the side of the room (for cleaning), and the lights were off. He walked in, got his backpack, and then sat down on a stool in the middle of the room with the saddest face. He was just sitting there... looking all around. He said, "I just want to remember it. I won't be coming back here." OK, so I'm tearing up at this point. I hugged him and told him he would LOVE third grade. And, that he would make lots of fun and cool new friends. Mercy. Who would have thought that a 9 year-old boy would need a "moment" on the last day of school? Well, to cheer you up... Just a few seconds later, we were walking out to the car, and I tried to get him under the umbrella. (Yes... an UMBRELLA!! In the DESERT!!) He took off running through the rain, screaming and jumping up and down. "I'm a third grader!! I'm a third grader!! I'm a third grader!!" Yes, little boy... you are!