5th grade farewell~a quick look back(in no particular order)

The end of the school year is quickly approaching and preparations are being made for the "5th grade farewell." Every year a special "farewell" party is planned for the 5th graders. This year the kids are going to a local rec center that offers indoor sports and swimming. The school is also making a DVD for the 5th graders of any school activites of the kids and each child will receive a copy. I have been looking through my pictures(most of them are sadly still on the computer) and have found a few to send in. Unfortunately I won't post them here because other kids are in the pictures with Ethan.

It is amazing to me that "six" years(including kindergarten) have passed so quickly and here we are at the end of his elementary school years. As I collected pictures for the DVD I found myself in one of those moments of "where did the time go?" It seems like only yesterday that I was putting him on the school bus (tissues in hand and tears in my eyes) to send him to "real school." That seemed like such a huge step. How did this shy little kindergartener that I felt such a need to nurture and protect from the big 5th graders at school now turn into one?

I will say at the begining of the school year I was in no way prepared to even think of Ethan going to middle school. Is homeschooling an option(not for us)? Tears would well up in my eyes every time I thought about it. I would watch previous 5th graders at their end of the year awards ceremony and I would start to tear up thinking about Ethan one day being at that point. Of course then it seemed so far away and I was just glad it was somebody else's child and not mine moving on to middle school. Well here we are. In what seemed like a blink of an eye. It is OUR turn. OUR turn to prepare and move on to the next stage in life. I am ready(at least most of me is). We are ready(I know Ethan is). Though I am sure when the last day is finally here not only will the tears well up but they will be flowing because this is MY kid.