Milestones worth Celebrating

This was going to be a unique crossroads of milestones for the younger residents of the Bowes household. Callie was going to be completing middle school and Reese would be finishing fifth grade and marking our family's last year at Cassidy Elementary School. Everywhere we turned were reminders of what was coming, including a congratulations sign for all graduates at our church.

Leading up to graduation, Morton Middle School put on an 8th grade dance to give the graduates one last fling before the big day. Because of cotillion, Callie and her friends had gotten used to dressing up.

 

From this picture you can see that Callie and her closest eleven friends in a rainbow of assorted colors had dinner together before hitting the dance floor. But as Callie reports, middle schoolers do not dance. Some things never change.

Finally the big day arrived and we all had our work cut out for us. Callie had stated years ago, if Reese and I graduate on the same day you guys should just go to Reese's ceremony. Obviously we would never do that, but circumstances certainly tested that commitment. Our day started early with a photo shoot on the back patio with our two honorees. Then it was off to Cassidy.

We arrived at Cassidy early so that we could get good seats for a number of reasons. In our experience with both girls, Cassidy does a great job with their graduation and after dealing with the pandemic restrictions it was great to all be together to celebrate these kids. In a wonderful twist, Reese received one of the special awards of the day. This was from Mrs. Adams, the librarian, and she highlighted Reese's enjoyment of reading and that Reese was a wonderful presence throughout her six years at Cassidy. We were already proud of Reese, but this certainly made us beam even more.

After the formal graduation, all the kids and families squeezed into the cafeteria for some snacks and photo opportunities. This crew just happens to include many of her soccer friends and are a good bunch. Not too long after this they continued their celebrations at a pool party. But before Reese could do that, she had to dash out the door with Sarah to join John and Callie across town.

On a typical year, going from a graduation at Cassidy to one at Morton would simply involve walking across the playground. This year, however, things were very different. Due to concerns about crowd size and covid, Morton's administration initially decided to have graduation with only the kids present and the parents watching online. That announcement did not sit well with many parents and to make a long story short, on graduation day Morton kids and their families had an in-person ceremony in the gym of Transylvania University. The location and timing meant that John and Callie had to leave Cassidy's ceremony early to make sure Callie was on time. Fortunately, Reese and Sarah made it right before the ceremony started.

It continued to be a day of wonderful surprises for us as Callie received a special award as well. The award she received was for the most accomplished female student athlete in the 8th grade. And we are happy to report that Callie definitely puts the student in student athlete, finishing her middle school career with straight As all three years.

Just like her sister, Callie is fortunate to have a group of great friends around her. They are great students, involved in all sorts of activities, and just good folks overall. Not too long after this picture they had their own pool party to go to. The big difference for them is that their party was co-ed and hosted by a boy.

It was a beautiful day overall that exemplified how fortunate the four of us are to be part of a great community of schools, kids, and fellow parents. These milestones were made even more special in that they marked the accomplishments of these kids who endured a great deal of uncertainty, instability, and disruption over the previous two years. It was not easy for anyone but the smiles of the day say it all.