I will never argue with Kaitlyn again over wearing a sweater to school.
Today after school, the teacher held a little party with the students and parents because this was her last day. She is retiring. (She is retiring mid-year because of threatened changes by the government that could cost her years and money.) Knowing I wouldn’t understand much of what was said, I figured it was best to go. She has been nothing but wonderful with Kaitlyn.
First, Kaitlyn rushed to the food table and downed a coke and three sugar cookies in no time flat. She’ll never get to sleep tonight after that. Then another teacher I’m getting to know because her daughter is in Kaitlyn’s class and in her ballet class offered up some punch. I took some and realized after a big gulp that it was definitely not for the kids. You’d never be served punch with alcohol in it in a school in the United States. But here it seemed perfectly normal. And it was good. I asked her what was in it, but I already forgot the answer.
Soon I realized that this thing was not going to wrap up any time soon and that wearing my coat and scarf was going to probably make me pass out from the heat. So I shed those layers, but never really cooled off. I guess that most of our monthly tuition check goes toward paying the heating bill.
I stood there with sweat dripping down my back while we watched a video slide show put on by one of the parents. It was basically his kid’s first year and a half at school, which happened to have a couple of pictures of the teacher mixed in. It was interesting to see pictures of the kids during the day… the field trip to the zoo last year… the roller skating lessons this year… But, man, that was one long slide show. There were like two dozen pictures of cakes made to look like caterpillars from the day this year when everyone was supposed to bring some treat that had to do with creativity and nature.
I don’t know how long that slide show lasted. A half hour? Forty-five minutes? When it was over, the teacher hugged the parent who’d done the work and told everyone he’d been one of her first students.
Then, it was time for the director of the school to give the teacher her retirement gifts. As I’d been solicited to donate to the gift giving cause, I was interested to see what I’d helped buy. A huge bouquet of flowers, some Christmas ornaments, some monogrammed napkins and a gift certificate to a garden store. Not exactly a grandfather clock or pocket watch, but probably more useful.
I managed to snap a picture of Kaitlyn with her teacher and her little French friend. Maybe one day Kaitlyn will look at it and remember the woman who first tried to get her to speak French.
Finally, the party started wrapping up and I got Kaitlyn to put on her coat so we could go. We left at 6:00. An hour and a half and four cookies and two glasses of champagne punch after it started.
I’ve gone to two retirement parties in the last two days for two of my staff. Everyone spoke English.