Today is one of those days you feel like you should treasure. A day that you feel the need to make really special. It’s a first for you as a parent and for your first born child.

The last day of primary school.

It’s felt a little flat though. We all know why… Covid-19. That pesky virus that completely changed modern day life in a way we never thought possible. So many milestones that have been stripped from so many people through no fault of their own.

This day should have been filled with excitement. Full of giddy year 6’s running around the playground frantically getting as many people as they can to sign their shirts- people who they won’t remember within a year, but right now, it’s so incredibly important. They will be getting ready for their leavers mass. Singing a song to all the parents who are trying their best not to wail in sorrow. Singing a song and watching them coming to the realisation that this is the end of something they have had as a constant in their life for the last seven or so years. Hearing their little voices quiver and their eyes glaze over with tears in their eyes.They should have had fun at their leavers play. Learning lines and getting to be silly.

Finally though, they should have had a celebration. Something purely for them, their achievements, and the fact they were taking another step in this big wide world of responsibility.

Instead.. nothing..

No hugs. No big send off from their school family. The teachers who want so much to tell them how they have loved watching them grow can no longer do that. Not in the way they wanted to. They can’t celebrate together as a class. as a unit. It’s not allowed.

I will celebrate you. I will embarrass you as I pick you up from school today. I will make a huge deal of the fact this is the last time you will be walking out of those school gates as a pupil. I will reflect on what an eventful life you have had in your 11 1/2 years on this earth. Moving from a different country. Moving schools. Having to completely re-write your narrative through life experiences that are not the norm.

I am proud of you and I am proud to be your mum.

On to the next chapter Gabe. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, but it will be worth it!

C x