Andrew Graduated from Kindergarten today. After the graduation ceremony we took some photos including the one above. This is a bittersweet photo for me because it is of the three Andrews. My grandfather passed away last month and he was also an Andrew. Whenever we all got together we would take a photo of the four of us together. This photo is the first with the remaining three. I cherish that we were able to have 4 generations in one photo so many times. It is an important family legacy to be a part of. It is more than us having the same name, it is what my father and his father imparted to me over my lifetime and what I strive to impart to my own son.

Andrew is very lucky to have such a nice group of kids in his class. The graduation ceremony was excellent with the kids singing a bunch of songs and making the parents cry. When they sang rainbow connection, well many people lost it. It is a new begining for Andrew and his friends. They are now on to First Grade and the days of Kindergarten are behind them. I am impressed with how smart Andrew is and how much he progressed this year. He went into the highest reading group and surpassed that so much that his teacher gave him extra work to challenge him. Each week when Andrew got a new book from the Library he had to write 2-3 sentences about what he read. He enjoyed that challenge very much, too.

This is a photo of Father Dave and Mrs. S. with Andrew. I’ve known Fr. Dave ever since High School. We worked together on a bunch of retreats. He was there at my High School Graduation, our wedding and so many more life events. I am glad that he is there for my kids as well. Mrs. S. was a great teacher for Andrew. She made sure that he didn’t get too bored with things as his mind is going a million miles a minute. We appreciated the challenges that she laid out for him.

It was a fine day. Andrew was one of two kids wearing a full suit for his graduation. I wore a shirt with a collar (it was like a tux for me). My kid has style and swagger all his own. He decided that was what he wanted to wear along with his signature bow tie.

After the graduation we went to a party that our friends threw for the entire class. I met some great people and had a really fun time with some of the dads. Great conversations that I enjoyed. I’m usually pretty quiet at these things and look after the kids. But they didn’t need me to do that. They’re growing up and doing their own thing now. I could just enjoy being there talking with some other people. We stayed for a while but then had to leave because Eva was signing in the talent show. She sang a song from The Greatest Showman all by herself and did an excellent job.

It was a very nice day. So proud of both of these kids.