End of The School Year

          Here in British Columbia our school year ended much more quickly than we anticipated- our Teachers and our Government have come to a standstill in negotiations over job contracts which has resulted in a full scale strike. I know for many of my readers this is not news- we are in the same boat- school has ended two weeks early. As a first time school Mum I am a little sad- Kindergarten is special and friendships tenuous. Our Littles don't really understand what "job action" and "locked out" means- all they know is that school is finished and all their fun plans for the year end cancelled.

       Now I'm not going to get into a debate here in this space on the rights and wrongs of this whole situation- what I am trying to convey and search out is the good in this entire mess. There is good to be found at least from my point of view- then again I am Mum to a Kindergarten child and not a Grad- and then again I can always find a silver lining in nearly ever cloud.

     For me- I have missed my boy so much over the past year- I have missed having him as my constant shadow- my helper in all things I am trying to do.  I found the transition from Pre-school to Kindergarten very difficult- I actually really like spending time with my kids and I was left at loose ends last September when full time school started. For me I am secretly happy he is home- happy my Gal is still in school for another week (Pre school is private and there for not on strike) and I get a whole lot of extra time spent with my boy- just him and I!

         So of course to the beach we go- meeting up with friends along the way- an all boys outting- the Mums are just casual observers who happen to be sitting close by. Watching my boy I can see the subtle changes that have occurred over the past ten months- aside from the growth spurt- I can see how he has grown mentally- thinking not like a pre schooler but more like a big kid. He is no longer quite so quick to anger- working out disputes on his own- most of the time. A keen interest in electronics and gadgets and how they work is clear as he tails some bigger boys down the beach- they have a metal detector and are on a treasure hunt. I love listening to him and hearing his view of things- this too has changed over the past year- he speaks and thinks on his own now.

          I'm taking this whole job action in stride- it is what it is- a dispute between employees and their employers- nothing I say or do will hurry the process along- and at this point in our school year it would just confuse our kiddo if they headed back into the classroom. It is sad that his Kindergarten year happened to end on a total flat note- he missed out on the excitement of the last day of school.  As a parent all we can do is hope that a compromise is found before next Fall- that going forward we will all be back in the classroom- it's what the Teachers want- it's what we all want. Mean while there is the beach and a world of classroom at our feet for the Summer!