The class of 2025 has left the building
Last Wednesday was the last day of our church’s preschool year. Today, the building is unusually quiet and it’s a little unnerving. This is the 38th time I have seen our preschoolers graduate and move on to kindergarten. But this year felt a little different. In the past, I have always been a little bit removed from the students. While they were in class, I was writing sermons, visiting the hospital, or preparing a Bible study. Other than greeting them at the door at the beginning of the day, I did not have too much time with the kids.
A few years ago, my daughter, who works for the preschool, called me and asked me to come down to the puppy class. “You have to see this,” Justine said, “They are SO cute!” I was surprised to hear her say this because she always claimed to dislike children. (Which is unfortunate if you work at a preschool) I moseyed on down to the puppy class and they were indeed very cute. Being around that level of cuteness is like crack cocaine. You get addicted very quickly.
So, I decided I needed to up my preschool interaction game. I started helping with the before-care program Monday – Thursday. William and I would build rockets out of Legos. He would then count down from 10, and we would blast off to adventures on Mars or the moon. Harper and I would color together. She is very good at keeping it between the lines and several of her works of art adorn the wall in my office. CJ would tap me on the shoulder and then hide behind me while I called his name and said, “Hey! Where did that kid go?” He would then pop out from behind me, and I would say, “Hey…what’s the big idea?”
In retrospect, I’m not sure how much I was helping. Mostly I just played, which is a lot more fun than writing newsletter articles. What I AM sure of is that these kids wrapped their cuteness around my heart in a powerful way. There is something very satisfying about sitting next to a child and coloring with them. It’s great for lowering your blood pressure and relieving anxiety.
The thing is, puppies become ladybugs, ladybugs become Dinosaurs, and Dinosaurs graduate and go off to kindergarten. The puppies I went to visit a few years ago are now Virginia Hills Preschool graduates. Good luck, class of 2025. I’m glad you came my way.
