Friday, May 7, 2010

Why the tears?

Catlin Gabel Barn (it's the Cafeteria)

Yesterday I stopped by the boys' school to (1) drop Sammy the keys to his newly "legal" '66 Thunderbird (after having spent an hour at DMV registering and getting new plates for the car) and (2) pick up Joey to take him prom clothes shopping. Yes, prom is Saturday. Yes, that is crazy procrastination for the kid that is smaller than a 36 short. Yes, I know, I know. No, a tux would be too simple.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the DMV nearly deserted, at least compared to what it has looked like the past couple times I was there. I was thinking... this is going to be a snap. Ha, I should have known. Because Thursday afternoons are slow, apparently, they staff the counters with one person. They don't even use the number system. They just stick you in a line and ask you to wait. No problem, there were only about 8 people in front of me and a room full of empty chairs. After 45 minutes of standing in line I was longing for a number and a chair. Eventually I did make it to the counter--once there, the transaction only took about 3 minutes. What was everyone else doing? It's kind of like when you are stuck in traffic and then you get to a certain point and everything speeds up and you have no idea where the traffic was coming from in the first place?

Anyway, off to Catlin Gabel School.

Catlin's Modern Language Building (Spanish, French, Japanese & Chinese taught here)

I waited outside Sammy's last class of the day, Honors Japanese. Sammy was the first to burst through the door, of course. Then out streamed a handful of gloriously happy seniors. Yesterday was their last official day of class. They now embark on their Senior Projects. They spend the next month "working" (volunteering) for a business in the community. In June they will return with reports and speeches in hand and share what they have learned out in the "real world". Then graduation and they are done with High School. Joey will be "working" at Pok Pok, a really wonderful local Thai restaurant. Today is his first day as a matter of fact. I predict he comes home sore and tired. I don't think he realizes what it is like to work in a restaurant.

Well, back to Sammy's Japanese class. So the last person to finally emerge from the classroom is Sammy's Japanese teacher, Yoko-sensei. She is holding a huge flowering plant and crying. She says she is so sad to see the seniors go. She was very happy and proud of Sammy (the only non-Senior) for giving the Seniors a nice send off speech in Japanese. She is wiping tears from her eyes. I can't help wondering if she is really THAT sad about seeing the seniors go... or if she is a little sad that for the next month and a half Sammy will be the ONLY student in her class. Oh my! She claims she is really looking forward to this... really? Perhaps she is. She tells us Sammy is quite verbal in Japanese, that he speaks up often and clearly--HUH? Well, I guess they can spend the next five weeks preparing for the big speech Sammy has to give in Japan in August. That should be fun :).

Back to Joey's prom attire. We did find him a pretty wonderful suit and for the price I figure he needs to wear it at least once a day for the next four years to get our money's worth, and I will get my own pictures tomorrow. I WILL! Will there be tears, perhaps...

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