Monday, yesterday, I was sitting in the stands watching Max’s penultimate t-ball game of the season and (big surprise here) chatting on the phone with Meryl when my phone did its little bleeping thing that means it’s about to die or I’ve got another call. Checking my screen told me it was the latter and not the former. For some reason Jake and Nate’s school was calling me. Meryl and I finished up our conversation and I switched over. It was Jake’s Math teacher, she was calling to tell me that Jake had won an award and that I would be asked to go up on stage with him during the recognition ceremony Tuesday. Jake didn’t know about it and this was basically a heads up phone call.
All righty then, I wonder what he had won! I couldn’t ask Jake because it was a surprise, I would have to wait and find out tomorrow.
So today, Tuesday, my big plans were to push Nate onto the bus, drop Max and Rebecca off at Preschool and then head over to the boy’s school to drop off Jake in best outfit and attend the recognition ceremony for the fifth grade class. I decided it was best to drive Jake in since a jacket and tie is not really compatible with a bus. It would also give us enough time for both Jake and I to take our respective showers and get all gussied up.
Jake at first pulled out a couple of polo shirts to choose from, but mindful of the award I steered him towards a white oxford and tie. He debated a bit on the jacket, would it be too hot, did he really need it and so on. In the end he decided to wear the jacket and I thought it was a good call.
He looked so handsome.
Everybody noticed him when we walked into the preschool and again into his school. Only one other boy in his class had on a jacket and tie and he wasn’t nearly as cute. He looked so nicely put together right down to the Junior Handling tie tack he got from the AKC. OK. The sneakers are a bit messy, but he had outgrown his good shoes and I haven’t had a chance to get another pair. I dropped Jake off in his classroom and bade him farewell until later while his teacher affixed a yellow flower to his lapel.
I lingered in the cafeteria, helping things get set up for the reception afterwards when I got shooed into the gym/auditorium. After casting about for a decent sight line of the stage I settled on a front row seat. As I a fussed with my camera a fourth grader came by and gave me a program. I eagerly opened it up to see if it gave any clues as to what Jake won. Only three awards were listed, Student of the Year (nope, I think Jake is terrific, but he is not SotY material), Presidential Outstanding Academic Excellence (maybe), and Presidential Outstanding Academic Achievement (Bingo! I based this on the fact that Jake’s math teacher was the one that called me and she was the presenter for this award.)
And my guess was a good one.
The certificate came with a letter signed by the President and a nice blue enameled pin. If you click on the letter you can actually read it. It is a very nice, if somewhat nondescript letter that is made a little bit ironic since it comes from a person of such sterling academic credentials. But, I like what it stands for and I treasure this acknowledgment of Jake’s academic ability.
The certificate itself is rather plain, which I like. I just wish they had used Jake’s proper name (Jacob) instead of Jake. Ah well, at least everything else is spelled correctly. The seal is embossed in silver which didn’t scan very well. Overall it is rather spiffy.
Then there was the pin.
The school had a very nice way to handle the awarding of the pin. The student would be called up and the parental Unit(s) would meet the child up on the stage. When it was the child’s turn to receive the award the Principal would hand the certificate to the child and a teacher gave the pin to a parent. The parent would then put the pin on the child. It was a very touching ceremony and I was so glad I could be there especially without the dynamic duo in tow. It would have been very interesting. Anyway, once the pin was on it was a couple of quick handshakes and then we were off the stage heading back to our seats.
The rest of the ceremony was finished up with an adorable slide show that featured the students in kindergarten and fifth grade photos. For a lot of the kids it was like looking at photos of older and younger siblings being compared. Some hadn’t changed a bit and a few were almost unrecognizable.
When it was all done Jake met up with me and we had a little bit of cake, took a picture of him with his teacher and then headed off to lunch. As a special treat it was just the two of us. We had just enough time before we had to go pick up Max and Rebecca from Preschool.
Oh and one more thing, Rebecca found Jake to be so handsome in his coat and tie that she insisted that he walk just her to the car. She pulled Jake’s hand from mine and then firmly threaded her arm through his. It was definitely Jake’s turn to shine.
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