Matthew graduated from elementary school this morning with the entire fifth grade. Tony and I attended the ceremony and watched as all the students were giddy with excitement of "stepping up" to middle school. Along with this, came the emotion I experienced as I watched my son go through another rite of passage. He's growing up and there is no denying it. The usual pre-teen attitude is obvious along with the parental tug of war that I experience. He's growing up and all too quickly for me. (video - if you can't view it- please go to www.flickr.com/dontot)
As we watched the slide show of pictures that captured the past school year, I remembered every event as if it just happened moments ago. Matthew has definitely matured and is ready to embark on his journey to middle school. It's sad that he won't be in Shanghai to experience this with his friends but that is the chance you take when you live overseas for an assignment. He will miss his friends that he's made in Shanghai and will keep in touch through email. We will miss Mr. Monteith, the teacher who helped to shape his academics this year. All the parents agreed that Mr. Monteith is definitely the best teacher at SAS. Let's just say , the next group of fifth graders who get him will have hit the jackpot.
