Kindergarten Besties

Oh those silly kids. For almost the entire school year I've been bringing home a spare kid each day and dropping him in his driveway on our way home. The conversations from the cheap seats never cease to entertain. Topics range from school-related activities to weekend plans and toilets (always toilets) to horrid knock-knock jokes.

For weeks I've been hearing "Next time guys, we have to be way funnier. Way, waaaaaay funnier."
And I've heard it all.
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Interrupting cow"
"Interrupting co...
"Moo"

"What did the momma tomato say to the kid tomato?"
"ketchup"
(Because they were going for a walk and the kid was falling behind...)
That one took Ella about a month to finally "get" when she saw it on her own milk carton at lunch. Finally.

"How do you make a witch itch?...Take away the w!!!"
**Chirp. Chirp.**
(Again, I had to explain that one for a few weeks)

So yesterday they chatted about being the teacher and the teachers being the students.

Hilarity, my friends. Hilarity.

What really gave me a bit of the giggles was when they decided they would not let them have class everyday but make them take a field trip every. single. day.
Like a field trip is a punishment?
"So their legs would get tired too."
Oh yes, walking the zoo for a day is horrid.

So as I reflect on this year of Kindergarten convo-induced giggles I wonder how things will be now that they are headed on to 1st grade. They've discussed the matter at length, with deep-seeded concerns over the three of them losing each other. Or two of them being together and one being left out. Because, you see, next year they may not all be in the same class.

Ella-Barrett-Emma - Last week of Kindergarten - May 2015

The Three Amigos. B-E-E. Triple Threat. Barrett-Emma-Ella. Whatever you call them, call them tight. This trio seems to have clicked and it didn't take long. So now after a full school year of being a great group of friends they want to plan summer get-togethers. Sleepovers. Backyard parties and to be friends for all of life. To never forget each other.

So during their whole 70 days off from school for the summer I see playgrounds and backyards and tents and firepits and sleepovers in their future. Because each day, at the end of the day, I see hugs and loves and "goodbye's" and "see you tomorrow's" that are genuine and true. I see friends that want to be forever friends. And I want to help foster those relationships and help them grow. Because these kids are good kids. Their parents are good people. They are the kinds of kids I want my baby girl hanging with. Learning from. Being herself with. Because they are accepting of each other just the way they are.

I grew up in a town where you were always in the same class with the same people unless someone moved away or was new to town. My choices for friends were pretty limited. My husband grew up in Omaha and has had the same core group of friends since middle school. Middle school, ya'll. In a town this size??? I'm amazed.

Then I realized why. Do you know who my mother-in-law celebrates her birthdays with? The moms of those friends. Those relationships thrived not only because those kids enjoyed each other, but their parents did as well. They spent time together, they helped cultivate and then tended to those relationships. Our kids, at this age, don't have ample opportunity to get together with their friends until a parent organizes and transports. I've been slacking in this department for the last year. I was tired. I was tired of calling and asking and planning and transporting and scheduling and cleaning up and refereeing and doing. I was tired.

Now they've reached an age where there is a lot less action needed on my part. Ask, plan, transport. Pretty simple. Maybe feed a kid or two here and there. Easy-peasy. So this summer that's what I'll do. I'll ask and plan and transport. I'll supervise. And referee when necessary. I'll love and hug and feed and entertain. I'll do what needs to be done to keep these kids together this summer.

I want Ella and her friends to remember this as the greatest summer ever... until the next summer. The summer when they could get together with friends and continue to feed those friendships, hoping they will continue to bloom in the fall and winter when new friends enter and another school year might separate them. And if during the course of time she decides those relationships aren't the best for her it will be her decision, not mine. It won't be my fault that B-E-E doesn't exist anymore. I will have done what I could to foster and nurture those relationships she has found so easy and fulfilling and enduring this year.

Kindergarten is just the start and I know that next year there will be new friends. Next year there will be more discoveries and better jokes and deeper backseat conversations during carpool. Next year there will be 1st graders in my van. Next year they'll learn more about who they are and who their friends are. They'll grow into bigger kids and stronger individuals. They'll move forward and I'll be there to help maintain the friendships they value and cherish.

So here's to a wildly successful Kindergarten year full of backseat conversations that fill the entertainment quota for my afternoons. Here's to next year's 1st grade backseat conversations.

Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Boo!
Boo hoo?
Don't cry... it's just a knock-knock joke!