"Gradulation" Day

Clean shirt, new shoes and I don't know where I am goin' to. Silk suit, black tie, I don't need a reason why. They come runnin' just as fast as they can 'cos every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man. --ZZ Top, "Sharp Dressed Man"

"Good morning, Mama!" chirped Matthew when I came downstairs today. "Is today Daniel's gradulation day?"

I laughed. "Well, yes, sort of. Tonight is the graduation for the pre-K and kindergarten kids, but Daniel's class will be there, too."

This will be our third end-of-year celebration at Daniel's school. Daniel "graduated" from his pre-K class two years ago, and we had to purchase a blue graduation cap for $15. Last year, the kindergarten graduation was even more costly: $25 for a white cap and gown. Tab and I were relieved to find out that we would not be expected to fork out more money for graduation paraphernalia this year.

Yesterday morning, it occurred to me that I needed to determine what Daniel should wear for the program, so I rifled through the closet where we store his seldom-used clothing. I discovered a lovely navy blue suit, complete with a crisp, white shirt, the buttonholes of which were outlined in dark blue thread. It was size 7 and fit Daniel perfectly. We received this suit along with many other items of clothing from one of Tab's co-workers whose seven-year-old son is a size bigger than Daniel.

When Daniel had finished dressing for the program tonight, I felt myself swell with pride at how wonderful he looked. The dark blue suit made a pleasing contrast with his light blonde hair, which for once was not sticking up in tufts all over his head. My mother-in-law had tamed it with a vigorous application of a comb and a dab of my styling cream. To tone down the formality of the suit, we omitted a tie. Also, since currently Daniel doesn't have any dress shoes, we let him wear a pair of brand new white and blue New Balance sneakers. It gave him a kind of David Letterman look.

Last year, Daniel's small school was overcrowded for the graduation ceremony, so this year they moved it to a public school in Hamilton, a neighboring township. The theme of the graduation program was "Through the Year." It was broken out into ten segments representing the months of the school year, September through June. Before each segment, one of the three first grade boys walked out in front of the closed curtains carrying a small poster of the calendar month and recited a couplet about the month. For instance, Daniel's lines for October were: "October brings harvest time with lots of food to eat / The leaves begin to change and it's time for trick or treat." Then the curtain opened and the pre-K or kindergarten kids sang recited a poem and sang a song about the month.

The three first grade boys took turns for each month. Daniel had October, January, and April. He was the only one of the three who had completely memorized his lines; Danny and Patrick read theirs off a cheat sheet glued to the back of the poster. I was so proud of Daniel, both for his memorization and for the way he spoke his lines clearly and distinctly.

Another highlight of the program was when the first graders joined the kindergartners for a rousing song and dance number using the music from "Jump Jive An' Wail." Daniel performed his shimmies with surprising grace. For the two dance interludes during the song, he was partnered with his friend Danny since the boys outnumbered the girls. The two of them had invented a jitterbug movement that made them the hit of the show.

Shortly before the finale of the program--the presentation of the "diplomas"--a screen was lowered in front of the curtain. Slides were projected, showing highlights from the previous school year. While the slide show was running, the director of the school sang some maudlin song I didn't recognize. I was rather indifferent to the show; the slide quality was for the most part terrible, and there were relatively few pictures of Daniel and his classmates. Stephen's emotions were stirred, however, by the sentimental song and by the images of many children he recognized. When the slide show as over, he turned to me with tears streaming down his face and sobbed, "I'm going to miss Daniel's school!"

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